FOTOTEX - Water Purification Tertiary Treatment using Photo-oxidation at semi-industrial scale

The textile sector has high levels of water consumption and generates significant pollution. Existing research on photo oxidation treatment suggests that application to textile outflows may be a suitable option for the elimination of organic compounds. The project examined and demonstrated the effectiveness of applying photo-oxidation treatment to industrial wastewater either from a secondary active sludge biological treatment or before. A semi-industrial scale prototype using the new purification treatment was introduced into an existing depurating system to determine the technical and economic feasibility of the new treatment when working in a continuous industrial flow process. The project also aimed to achieve high quality outgoing water for reuse in the same industry. The most important result is that the application of photo-oxidation techniques for the removal of biodegradable and non-biodegradable organic compounds in textile wastewaters require simple lighting installations and accessible re-agents, thus indicating feasible financial costs. The technique can be effective in the treatment of several kinds of effluents. But it does not decrease but increases conductivity considerably due to the mineralization of the organic matter. Reusing purified water requires treatment to decrease the level of dissolute salts.