Heterogeneous Fenton oxidation of dissolved organics in salt-laden wastewater from leather industry without sludge production

This is the first report on the heterogeneous oxidation of dissolved organics in wastewater with little consumption of Fenton’s reagent and without sludge production. The salt-laden wastewater discharged from leather industry has poor biodegradability due to the presence of high total dissolved solids. This wastewater is evaporated in solar evaporation pans. The evaporated residue faces disposal problem due to high concentration of organic and inorganic salts. The present study demonstrates the preparation, characterization and application of mesoporous activated carbon matrix along with Fenton’s reagent for the removal of dissolved organics in wastewater. Free electron-rich mesoporous activated carbon matrices (MAC₇₀₀, MAC₈₀₀ and MAC₉₀₀) were prepared and characterized for surface area, C, H, N, ash content, free electron density and energy gap value. Results show that heterogeneous catalytic oxidation of dissolved organics in the wastewater decreased biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total organic carbon and dissolved protein, respectively, by 74, 69, 61 and 80% at optimum pH (3.5), H₂O₂ (7.5 mmol/l), FeSO₄.7H₂O (0.3 mmol/l) and MAC₈₀₀ (10 g/l).