Triton X-100 is used for industrial application such as detergents in pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotechnology, and other industries.
The use of Triton X 100 (4-tert-OPnEO) has been banned by REACH because of its ability to form highly toxic compounds which affect nature and the environment. Only companies who applied for a licence before the sunset date (Jan 2021) can still use Triton X 100 in their manufacturing process.
However, any company that has the license to use Triton X 100 will need to reduce the concentration of the pollutant down to trace levels before discharging or incinerating their wastewater. This case study details exactly this issue and how we solved it for a well known pharmaceutical company.
Fraser Morgan
Wastewater consultant
Schedule a call with one of our wastewater treatment consultants at your convenience. Or you can send us an enquiry.
A well renown pharmaceutical manufacturing company came to Arvia with the goal to remove Triton X 100 from 1000 mg/l to 10 mg/l to comply with the current restrictions imposed on the chemical. The client was looking for an eco-friendly wastewater treatment approach to improve their carbon-footprint and meet their CSR policy.
Before approaching Arvia, the client disposed of Triton X 100 wastewater via incineration, which involves collecting the contaminated wastewater and trucking it off to a specialised facility to be incinerated. This process is not only extremely costly but the journey to transport the wastewater will increase your carbon footprint along with harmful toxins being emitted into the atmosphere causing long term environmental effects.
Pharmaceutical company, US
As an incineration alternative we proposed to the client our Nyex Ellenox wastewater treatment system which is an electrochemical oxidation process that produces powerful hydroxyl radicals (·OH) that removes the organic contaminant. During the treatment the ·OH radicals destroy the Triton X chemical which then fully mineralises the pollutant into gas which is then safely vented away.
This process will allow the client to save a significant amount on operating costs as well as being more eco-friendly with no chemical dosing or toxic sludge to deal with.
Tell us what organic compounds you need to remove from your water and our consultants will give their recommended approach which might involve:
The original objective of our client was to reduce the Triton X 100 (4-tert-OPnEO) from 1000 mg/L to 10 mg/L from their industrial wastewater.
We worked closely with the client and with the process being a batch treatment method, we found that the Triton X 100 chemical responded very well to our Nyex Ellenox system.
The result we achieved was reducing the contaminant from 1000 mg/l to 0.2/mg/l which exceeded our client’s objective by removing 99.98% of Triton X 100 from their pharmaceutical wastewater.
Triton X 100 (4-tert-OPnEO) being an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC), the use of the substance is banned in the EU if the company has not requested authorisation. At Arvia, we can help companies within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector with removing Triton X 100 from their industrial wastewater to comply with current regulation.
Our industrial wastewater treatment system is an alternative to incineration which given its more environmental approach companies can benefit by not only reducing their carbon footprint but lowering their operating costs.
With our ongoing projects, we have proven that electrochemical oxidation is the most effective solution to remove Triton X 100 otherwise known as octylphenol ethoxylate from pharmaceutical wastewater. Our Nyex Ellenox technology can give an eco-friendly wastewater treatment solution to entirely remove organic contaminants from the wastewater ready to be reused.
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