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Removal of Fatty Acids from Palm Oil Effluent by Combined Electro-Fenton and Biological Oxidation Process

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Abstract

The main objective of this study was to find out a cost-effective treatment methodology for the treatment of palm oil effluent (POE) obtained from a food processing industry. An electro-Fenton pretreatment and biological oxidation has been suggested for the removal of recalcitrant contaminants present in POE. An initial COD of about 6,700 mg/L of POE was subjected to electrolytic degradation for 2 h and subsequently by biological oxidation. The biological oxidation was carried out using Aspergillus niger and Pseudomonas putida in anaerobic condition. Electro-Fenton process removed 48.35% of the COD. Biological oxidation subsequently decreased the COD to 86.12% and BOD to 85.23%. In the combined process, a high reduction in TOC and TN were achieved. Experimental conditions have been optimized and performances of these techniques have been discussed. The treated water can be reused for general and agricultural purposes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Electrochemical Research Institute (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research), Karaikudi, 630 006, Tamil Nadu, India

    B. Ramesh Babu, K. Seeni Meera, P. Venkatesan & D. Sunandha

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  1. B. Ramesh Babu
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  2. K. Seeni Meera
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  3. P. Venkatesan
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  4. D. Sunandha
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Correspondence to B. Ramesh Babu.

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Babu, B.R., Meera, K.S., Venkatesan, P. et al. Removal of Fatty Acids from Palm Oil Effluent by Combined Electro-Fenton and Biological Oxidation Process. Water Air Soil Pollut 211, 203–210 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0292-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0292-5

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