Shi, Fan
(2006)
REMOVAL OF MIXED CONTAMINANTS FROM WASTEWATER BY MULTISTAGE FLOTATION PROCESS.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Wastewater discharged by industrial plants, including paper mills, petroleum refineries, chemical processing and other manufacturing facilities pose serious environmental concerns. In order to effectively remove mixed types of pollutants, including fine solids, emulsified oil and dissolved chemicals, a multi-stage loop-flow flotation column (MSTLFLO) has been developed. The loop flow action in the MSTLFLO column provides favorable hydrodynamic conditions, which promotes local in-stage mixing and enhances the bubble-particle contacts. It overcomes the slow collection problems normally encountered in conventional column flotation. Furthermore, with the addition of suspended adsorbent particles, the MSTLFLO column can function as an adsorptive flotation device to remove dissolved chemicals from wastewater. In this study, an experimental investigation on a simulated wastewater system containing emulsified mineral oil, suspended particles (powdered activated carbon or glass beads), and dissolved phenol (as a representative chemical) has been carried out using the MSTLFLO flotation column. Test results show that the separation efficiencies of emulsified oil and fine particles are greater than 90% while the phenol removal approaches the limiting value of equilibrium adsorption. Thus, the potential application of MSTLFLO process for simultaneous removal of mixed pollutants from industrial wastewater has been demonstrated. The rate of oil/fine particle separations in MSTLFLO column obeys the non-linear kinetics. The kinetic constants are correlated in terms of a two-parameter (gas holdup and bubble size) expression. A process simulation program based on the classic tank-in-series model has been established. Experimental results for the removal of both individual and mixed components in MSTLFLO process are shown to be in excellent agreement with values predicted by the numerical simulation. In addition, a comparative study of oil removal in a 4-in and a 12-in MSTLFLO column has yielded a simple geometric scale-up scheme in term of the ratio of column diameters. The findings of this study are intended to provide an engineering design basis in exploring future applications of the MSTLFLO flotation process for industrial wastewater treatment.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
1 February 2006 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
26 October 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
1 February 2006 |
| Submission Date: |
27 October 2005 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Chemical Engineering |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Draft tube; Fine particle separation; Multi-stage flotation; Oily water treatment; Phenol adsorption; Simultaneous removal of mixed pollutants; Wastewater treatment |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-10272005-104245/, etd-10272005-104245 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:03 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:50 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/9519 |
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