Study on the Removal of Fluorescent Whitening Agent from Paper-Mill Wastewater Using the Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (SMBR) with Ozone Oxidation Process

Abstract

In this study, paper-mill wastewater was treated using the Submerged Membrane Bioreactor (SMBR) process. In particular, the ozone oxidation treatment process is applied after SMBR to remove the fluorescent whitening agent, which is a trace pollutant and non-biodegradable. Fluorescent whitening agent concentration was indirectly measured by UV scanning and COD concentration. The concentration of COD before SMBR and ozone oxidation was 449.3 mg/L, and the concentration of treated water was 100.3 mg/ℓ. The COD removal efficiency of paper-mill wastewater through SMBR and the ozone oxidation process was about 77.68%. The optimized amount of ozone was required for the removal of the fluorescent whitening agent after SMBR was 95 mg·O₃/ℓ calculated by UV scan results. Additionally, the optimized amount of required ozone to remove COD was calculated to 0.126 mg·COD/mg·O₃.