Evaluation of the alternative treatment processes to upgrade an Opium alkaloid wastewater treatment plant

The aim of this study is to characterize the wastewater from an opium alkal oid processing plant and to evaluate alternative treatment techniques to up grade an existing full-scale biological activated sludge treatment plant ha ving problems of high residual COD and unacceptable dark brown color. In th is content firstly, long term operational records of the two stage aerobic activated sludge treatment plant of the opium alkaloid factory located in A fyon province of Turkiye were evaluated. The operating results for the last three years were statistically analyzed and median and 95-percentile value s were determined for the parameters including chemical and biological oxyg en demand (COD and BOD5) and treatment efficiencies. Specific wastewater ge neration was found as 6.7 m(3) per ton of the opium capsule processed. In t he following stage of the study, three additional treatment processes were experimentally tested: anaerobic pretreatment, post treatment of aerobicall y treated effluents with lime and ozone. Pilot scale upflow anaerobic sludg e blanket reactor (UASBR) experiments have demonstrated that about 70 perce nt of the incoming COD can be removed anaerobically. Chemical treatability studies with lime for the aerobically treated effluent have shown that abou t 78 percent color and 46 percent COD removals can be obtained with lime do sage of 25 gl(-1) Post treatment of the effluents of the existing two stage aerobic treatment with ozone also resulted in significant color and COD re duction.