Treatment of organic pollutants from pulp mill wastewaters using Fenton's oxidation process.

Pulp mill wastewater is essentially characterized by the presence of toxic organic and inorganic pollutants, and the industry is faced with the challenge of effectively removing these compounds before final disposal. In this study, the use of Fenton’s oxidation and its effectiveness in removing chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color from the pulp mill wastewaters was investigated. The study was conducted in two parts. In the first part, optimization of the various operating conditions for the process was conducted for COD removal. Different values of pH (2 to 6), temperature (30 to 50°C), H₂O₂ (0.1M to 6M), and Fe²⁺ (0.02M to 0.5M) were used. The second part involves the application of the Fenton’s process in treating different wastewaters obtained from 3 kraft pulp mills. Results obtained from the entire study indicated that the Fenton oxidation process is an effective treatment method for this type of wastewater as it enhances the efficiency of COD and color removal. Overall, this process can be considered effective as a pre-treatment and post treatment method.