Treatment of 2-phenylamino-3-methyl-6-di-n-butylaminofluoran production effluent by combination of biological treatments and Fenton's oxidation

High strength refractory organic stream is produced during the production of 2-phenylamino-3-methyl-6-di-n-butylaminofluoran (One Dye Black 2, abbr. ODB 2), a novel heat-sensitive material with a promising market. In this study, a combination of acidification-precipitation, primary biological treatment, Fenton's oxidation and another biological treatment was successfully used for the removal of COD from 18000–25000 mg/L to below 200 mg/L from the ODB 2 production wastewater in a pilot experiment. A COD removal of 70%–80% was achieved by acidification-precipitation under a pH of 2.5–3.0. The first step biodegradation permitted an average COD removal of 70% under an hydraulic residence time (HRT) of 30 h. By batch tests, the optimum conditions of Fenton's oxidation were acquired as: Fe2+ dose 6.0 mmol/L; H2O2 dose 3000 mg/L; and reaction time 6 h. The second step biological treatment could ensure an effluent COD below 200 mg/L under an HRT of 10 h following the Fenton's treatment.