Application of reverse osmosis to petrochemical industry wastewater treatment aimed at water reuse

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to apply reverse osmosis (RO) to the treatment of industrial wastewater from a large petrochemical complex in Southern Brazil, in order to verify the conditions of liquid effluent reuse and improve them, especially to reduce the consumption of natural water by some production structures such as boilers and cooling towers. Design/methodology/approach The petrochemical wastewater was submitted to pretreatment using a sand filter and activated carbon filters. Tests were conducted using RO equipment with a production capacity of 0.25 m 3 h −1 composed of a spiral membrane module with a membrane area of 7.2 m². Pressures of 8, 12 and 15 bar were applied with reject flow maintained constant at 10 Lm −1 . Findings The experiment results indicated optimum RO performance since more than 90 percent extraction was obtained for most of the compounds present in the petrochemical wastewater. Originality/value By checking the aspects involved, as well as providing some relevant considerations about, this study promotes the application of RO to get a satisfactory water reuse in similar industries, thereby decreasing both the volume of water extracted from wellsprings and the amount of wastewater released into water bodies.