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Advanced Oxidation

Advanced chemical oxidation processes make use of (chemical) oxidants to reduce COD/BOD levels, and to remove both organic and oxidisable inorganic components. The processes can completely oxidise organic materials to carbon dioxide and water, although it is often not necessary to operate the processes to this level of treatment

A wide variety of advanced oxidation processes are available:

chemical oxidation processes using hydrogen peroxide, ozone, combined ozone & peroxide, hypochlorite, Fenton's reagent etc.
ultra-violet enhanced oxidation such as UV/ozone, UV/hydrogen peroxide, UV/air
wet air oxidation and catalytic wet air oxidation (where air is used as the oxidant)

Advanced oxidation processes are particularly appropriate for effluents containing refractory, toxic or non-biodegradable materials. The processes offer several advantages over biological or physical processes, including:

- process operability
- unattended operation
- the absence of secondary wastes
- the ability to handle fluctuating flow rates and compositions

CWAO process

However, advanced oxidation processes often have higher capital and operating costs compared with biological treatment.

The most suitable variant for each application is chosen on the basis of the chemical properties of the effluent.