DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PROCESS FOR TREATMENT OF A PHARMACEUTICAL WASTE-WATER

In this study a process for biological treatment of toxic wastewater f rom a pharmaceutical company was developed. By simulations on a labora tory scale, the contribution of organic material and toxicity in waste water from different sources was determined and the degradability of s pecific compounds were studied. The information obtained from these te sts was used to improve the treatability of the wastewater at the sour ces. As an example a persistent organic phosphorous compound could be degraded after pre-treatment with chemical hydrolysis. By further simu lations on a laboratory scale it was possible to screen through a larg e number of process configurations to determine the best working biolo gical treatment. A combination of fungal and bacterial treatment was f ound to remove toxicity from the wastewater more than a conventional b acterial treatment. The results from the laboratory studies were confi rmed in pilot tests. A full scale treatment plant, which design is bas ed on the results from these studies are presently under construction. (C) 1998 IAWQ. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd