Quick estimation for pollution load contributions of aromatic organics in wastewater from pulp and paper industry

Abstract Quick and accurate estimation of organic pollution load such as COD in wastewater is very important for the implementation of cleaner production, especially in pulp and paper industry. In order to find the contribution of pollution load of aromatic organics, several non-aromatic and aromatic organics were studied. Results indicated that there was a good linear correlation between theoretical COD (ThOD) and composite parameters of ln(C + H)/O, which is calculated from the amount of C, H and O atoms in the molecular formula. From the regression line equation of ThOD vs ln(C + H)/O, it is found that the gradient of the aromatic ring regression line is lower than that of other acyclic compounds, which may be ascribed to aromatics which were hard to oxidize in measurements of COD. An actual COD well matched to the ThOD estimated for common aromatics with phenolic and non-phenolic structures often appeared for wastewater from pulp and paper industry, with a relative error rate of ± 5 %. Ideal recovery rates of these, 95 % to 105 %, were achieved. This work provides an effective method for quick and accurate estimation for pollution load contributions, which is important for contamination control and progress in industry.