Waste Water Treatment Investigation and System Design Recommendation

Wastewater Treatment 1
River Resilience Textile Company Waste Water Treatment
Investigation and System Design Recommendation
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Wastewater Treatment 2
Abstract
This report presents the findings for the task commissioned by the River Resilience Textiles
Company, to carry out testing of wastewater samples for the identification of heavy metals
and organic compounds. The heavy metals under investigation were arsenic and chromium
ions in the wastewater from the factory. In addition, the water was projected to contain
organic compounds such as dyes and possibly, some bacteria. From the literature, and
research on the possible sensing electrodes that could be effectively used to detect the
specified metals, polyvinylferrocene (PVF) electrodes which are metallopolymer-based were
identified as the effective choice. These electrodes have high selectivity for heavy metal
oxyanions and are effective under a range of different concentrations and electrolytic
conditions. For the removal of the organic dyes, a metal-organic framework was proposed.
The framework works through adsorption. The final process was the elimination of bacteria
by using a ceramic filter impregnated with silver ions.
Introduction
The textile industry is a consumer of huge water quantities needed in wet treatment
and the process of finishing textile materials. Textile production involves a complicated chain
of processes including spinning, knitting, and weaving. Assorted types of reagents are
utilized by these process such as bleaching and dyeing chemicals (Kos, Michalska, and Żyłła,
2016). The water discharged from these processes contains significant levels of different
pollutants. If discharged to the environment without prior treatment, it poses serious pollution
threat and health issues. Traditionally, the toxicity of wastewater was judged by the effect it
had on living organisms (biological effects) and the coloration of water bodies near textile
industries due to pollution. However, currently, the trend has shifted and the presence of

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hazardous chemicals in water can be easily identified using modern detection apparatus.
General guidelines have been formulated to regulate the levels of certain substances in
wastewater from industries. The contamination of water by heavy metals is a serious global
issue.
Several bodies such as World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have established limits of heavy metals in water,
beyond which water is considered unsafe for human and animal consumption. The table
below outlines the permissible limits of certain heavy metals common in wastewater samples.
Metal EPA WHO
Copper (mg/l) 1.3 1.0
Mercury (mg/l) 0.002 0.001
Lead (mg/l) - 0.05
Cadmium (mg/l) 0.005 0.005
Contaminant detection system
Several traditional methods have been applied to detect heavy metal ions in water.
These include atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC), flame atomic absorption spectrometry and wet chemical technique
including titrimetry and colorimetry (Bansod, Kumar, Thakur, Rana, and Singh, 2017).
However, according to Pujol et al., (2014), these methods require sophisticated and expensive
equipment with the necessity of trained staff which makes them unsuitable for use in on-site
applications. Electrochemical methods offer a better alternative as they have several
advantages such as rapid response, low cost, simpler approach and higher sensitivity. The