Electron beam irradiation and adsorption as possibilities for wastewater reuse

The importance of water for life and for the industrial processes is forcing the development of combined technologies for wastewater improvement. The limitations of biological treatment for reducing micro-pollutants and the constant introduction of different chemical into environment make Ionizing Radiation a more interesting technique for pollutants abatement. Electron Accelerators are the main radiation source for cleaning waters purpose. Remazol Orange and Black B were decomposed by Electron Beam Irradiation. Another research consisted in reuse of burnt coal for cleaning wastewater and the Orange and Red dyes were adsorbed onto zeolitic material. Both color and toxicity were the main parameters to evaluate the efficacy of the process and also the recommended criteria which allow further industrial reuse. Real effluents were also treated by both technologies in batch scale. The radiation dose suggested for real effluents varied from 2.5kGy up to 5kGy. The characteristics of obtained zeolite will be presented. The removal of color and toxicity was enough to allow the industrial reuse of those products (wastewater). (author)