Phenol Removal From Wastewater

Where are phenols used?

Phenols are some of the most essential chemicals used in modern manufactured products. Widely used by the specialty chemicals industry, they are constituent in everything from aspirin to analysis kits, pharmaceuticals to paint.
Without them, it’s true to say that modern life as we know it would probably cease to exist. They truly are the building blocks of modern chemistry, allowing talented chemists to create ever more effective products.
Phenols are incredibly useful ‘commodity’ chemicals. However, in concentration, they’re actually very dangerous and must be treated with the utmost caution.

What are phenols?

Phenols are similar to alcohols but because they form stronger hydrogen bonds, they are more soluble in water and thus are more likely to be unwanted constituents of industrial wastewater.
In its simplest form, phenol is known as monohydroxybenzene (benzenol or more simply, carbolic acid) and was reportedly used as the first surgical antiseptic by British surgeon Joseph Lister in 1865.
However, medicine has come a long way from 18th Century ‘kill or cure’ treatments and although phenols are now widely used as a disinfectant in cleaners and mouthwash (in low concentrations of course) a small amount on the skin in concentrated form can cause severe burns and could eventually lead to death.

Why do Phenols need to be removed from wastewater?

When phenol mixes in water, it can combine with other compounds to form extremely hazardous compounds which are harmful to aquatic and human life. For this reason, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the EU have listed phenolic compounds of pollutants of priority concern.
Chemical manufacturers who use phenol need to be very careful not to discharge phenol to avoid environmental bad press and fines.
Fortunately, the Arvia Nyex™ system is perfectly suited to remove these compounds down to below measurable levels.

How do phenols get into wastewater?

There are two main ways by which these unwanted compounds can appear in industrial wastewater and both are an unavoidable by-product of many manufacturing processes.
Water is used in the production process that also features phenols.
Any washdown or maintenance routines will add to concentrations of phenols in water used.
With the increasing cost of water – and sometimes even its availability being under threat – it makes sense to purify plant wastewater as much as possible. Many companies are starting to consider the possibility of ZLD (zero liquid discharge). Nyex Rosalox™ helps to make this possible.

Removing phenols from wastewater

Most companies Arvia deals with are of a sufficient size to have trade effluent consents in place that will specify wastewater purity and so they are concerned about adhering to limits as well as minimising adverse CSR exposure.
Our Nyex Rosalox™ treatment system overcomes the issues often experienced with traditional AOPs (advanced oxidation processes) and provide a robust and effective solution for the removal of organics. It works through a unique combination of adsorption and oxidation and can be placed at various points in many industrial water polishing processes.
As well as efficiency and high performance, the overriding advantage of Nyex™ systems is that the process leaves no residue, resulting in minimal maintenance, maximum up-time and no toxic residue requiring removal and incineration (itself a major cause of pollution.)
Our new-generation Nyex Rosalox™ systems can reduce phenols to below the limit of detection in many specialty chemical processes – literally to parts per trillion. In many applications it has been shown to deliver COD polishing from >300 mg/L to below LOD.