Evaluation of potential for reuse of industrial wastewater using metal-immobilized catalysts and reverse osmosis

•Display wastewater can be achieved economically using catalyst and membrane.•Metal-immobilized catalyst was preferential to remove low-molecular-weight organic compounds.•Operational factors such as acid, pH, and H2O2 was optimized for practical application.•With regard to water quality and operating costs, the proposed system was superior to existing systems. This report describes a novel technology of reusing the wastewater discharged from the display manufacturing industry through an advanced oxidation process (AOP) with a metal-immobilized catalyst and reverse osmosis (RO) in the pilot scale. The reclaimed water generated from the etching and cleaning processes in display manufacturing facilities was low-strength organic wastewater and was required to be recycled to secure a water source. For the reuse of reclaimed water to ultrapure water (UPW), a combination of solid-phase AOP and RO was implemented. The removal efficiency of TOC by solid-phase AOP and RO was 92%. Specifically, the optimal acid, pH, and H2O2 concentrations in the solid-phase AOP were determined. With regard to water quality and operating costs, the combination of solid-phase AOP and RO was superior to activated carbon/RO and ultraviolet AOP/anion polisher/coal carbon.