The remediation of wastewater containing 4-chlorophenol using integrated photocatalytic and biological treatment

In this work, the performance of integrated photocatalytic and biological treatment was studied for the degradation of 4-chlorophenol (MCP) present in wastewaters. Photocatalysis was used as a pre-treatment to biological degradation. Pollutant removal efficiency was quantified using MCP removal and total organic carbon (TOC) removal. Both photocatalytic as well as biological treatments were carried out in batch reactors, using TiO₂ as the photocatalyst. The inoculum for biological experiments was obtained from paper mill effluent treatment plant and was developed through a process of selection and acclimatization. Effect of TiO₂ concentration on the photocatalytic degradation of MCP was studied along with the effect of the duration of photochemical oxidation and glucose concentrations (0 g/L, 1 g/L and 2 g/L) on the biodegradation of MCP. Integrated biological and photochemical degradation was found to be more effective in treating MCP, especially at higher concentrations (400 mg/L). An initial MCP concentration of 400 mg/L required 96 h for complete mineralization when treated with the process combination, whereas the treatment went on up to 264 h when biodegradation alone was employed.