Analytical Monitoring of the Chemicals Present in the Discharge Water Generated by the Surface Treatment Industry

Abstract

Industrial discharge water, and especially that from the surface treatment industry (ST), contains non-negligible amounts of pollutants even though the legislation is fully respected. In spite of this, no detailed studies list the exact chemical composition of these effluents. The present study reports the results of analyses performed over a 6-month period involving 15 standard water parameters. Over 160 substances including 33 metals, 58 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 24 chlorophenols (CPs), 16 alkylphenols (APs), 5 chloroanilines (CAs) and 7 polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) were monitored. The industrial effluents presented polycontamination involving metals, minerals and organics with a high degree of qualitative and quantitative variability. Of the 160 substances monitored, 46 were regularly found: 25 inorganics including 8 metals (Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn) and 21 organics (4 PAHs, 10 VOCs, 4 CPs and 3 APs). Eighteen were systematically presented at quantifiable levels.

Monitoring metal ions present in the effluent discharged from a surface treatment plant: Analytical results

“…To calculate the values of the annual discharge flux, the Water Authority enables industries to consider values as zero when they are below the LQ [13]. We used the same approach to calculate the daily mean concentrations and the mean fluxes from our data reported in Table 3.…”

“…The metals (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Cr(VI), Fe, Hg, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Pd, Pt, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, Te, Tl, Ti, V, W, and Zn) were assayed by a certified laboratory following a standard protocol using an ICP-AES instrument [13]. The results are expressed in mgÁL À1 .…”

“…In spite of the considerable improvements made in decontamination, this sector of industry still has a poor image [9][10][11]. Even though industrial wastewater respects current legislation, the effluent from ST plants, which is decontaminated using physical and chemical approaches, still contains a nonnegligible load of metals that can be a cause for concern [12][13][14]. The metals make their way to the rivers, either by direct discharge or indirectly passing first by municipal wastewater treatment plants.…”

Modification of a Wastewater Decontamination Station: Chemical, Eco Toxicological, and Technical-Economic Impacts

“…The method involves using standard test kits and measuring each parameter directly in microtubes with preprogrammed methods. All protocols have been previously described in detail [10].…”

Decontamination of polluted discharge waters from surface treatment industries by pressure-driven membranes: Removal performances and environmental impact

“…These restrictions have led industries to focus on new depollution processes to treat their wastewaters. In this framework, decontamination of multicontaminated solutions appears to be an overriding challenge and especially for Surface Treatment (ST) industries [1][2][3]. As a consequence, ST industries are strongly affected by the presence in their effluents of heavy metals but also organic micropollutants such as Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), and possibly some endocrine disruptors (e.g., Alkylphenols (APs)).…”