TRATAMENTO DE EFLUENTES DA INDÚSTRIA PETROQUÍMICA USANDO Ti/Ru0,34Ti0,66O2

Resumo

The electrochemical oxidation is a promising alternative for the treatment of complex matrices such as produced water (PW). The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Ti/Ru0,34Ti0,66O2 anode in electrochemical treatment of real effluents from the oil production industry (fresh, brine and saline PW). For all matrices were performed three current densities (10, 20 and 30 mA cm-2) at room temperature (25 ± 1 °C); to track the degradation process was used the chemical oxygen demand (COD), which was measured every 30 minutes of electrolysis; the pH was recorded before and after electrolysis. The process was dependent on the applied current density and the effluent matrix, which had different concentrations of chloride and COD. The largest removal of organic was obtained in the treatment of brine PW, whose removal was 100% after 120 minutes electrolysis at 30 mA cm-2 with an energy consumption of 13.77 kWh dm-3; to fresh PW, the average removal rate was 96% when the current density of 20 mA cm-2 was applied during 240 minutes of electrolysis, consuming 83.95 kWh dm-3 of energy; and the saline PW, the removal was 70% and was obtained after 10 hours of electrolysis at current densities of 30 mA cm-2 (50.68 kWh dm-3). The different concentrations of Cl- present in the effluents promoted the electrogeneration of active chlorine species (strong oxidants), favoring treatment efficiency. The efficiency and speed of electrochemical oxidation stimulate its applicability as an alternative in the treatment of petroleum production waters.