Advanced treatment of wet-spun acrylic fiber manufacturing wastewater using three-dimensional electrochemical oxidation

A three-dimensional electrochemical oxidation （3D-EC） reactor with introduction of activated carbon （AC） as particle micro-electrodes was apphed for the advanced treatment of secondary wastewater effluent of a wet-spun acrylic fiber manufacturing plant. Under the optimized conditions （current density of 500 A/m2, circulation rate of 5 mL/min, AC dosage of 50 g, and chloride concentration of 1.0 g/L）, the average removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand （CODer）, NH3-N, total organic carbon （TOC）, and ultraviolet absorption at 254 nm （UV2s4） of the 3D-EC reactor were 64.5%, 60.8%, 46.4%, and 64.8%, respectively; while the corresponding effluent concentrations of CODcr, NH3-N, TOC, and UV2s4 were 76.6, 20.1, and 42.5 mg/L, and 0.08 Abs/cm, respectively. The effluent concentration of CODer was less than 100 mg/L, which showed that the treated wastewater satisfied the demand of the integrated wastewater discharge standard （GB 8978-1996）. The 3D-EC process remarkably improved the treatment efficiencies with synergistic effects for CODer, NH3-N, TOC, and UV2s4 during the stable stage of 44.5%, 38.8%, 27.2%, and 10.9%, respectively, as compared with the sum of the efficiencies of a two-dimensional electrochemical oxidation （2D-EC） reactor and an AC adsorption process, which was ascribed to the numerous micro-electrodes of AC in the 3D-EC reactor. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry （GC-MS） analysis revealed that electro- chemical treatment did not generate more toxic organics, and it was proved that the increase in acute biotoxicity was caused primarily by the production of free chlorine.