Abstract
Food processing industries generate complex effluent with high levels of organic and inorganic contaminants. Without proper treatment, significant operational, environmental, and public health issues may arise. This study aimed to assess the Fenton reaction’s efficacy as an advanced oxidation process (AOP), to treat mixed dairy and slaughterhouse effluent from Nablus city. Bench-scale tests showed inadequate results (45.2% COD removal) because of high pollution levels (COD: 15400 -18,100 mg L−1). Further tests have combined the Fenton process with three pre-treatment methods: (A) coagulant addition, (B) settling, and (C) flocculent application. Fenton’s process with flocculent achieved significant removal of organic (88.4% COD; 84.1% TKN) and inorganic (91.0% TSS; 62.4% TS) contaminants under optimised conditions (H2O2/COD ratio 2:1, H2O2/Fe + 2 ratio 10:1, pH = 3). Treated wastewater from trial (C) let meeting local regulatory standards with COD levels below 2,000 mg/l.
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