Evonik provides fast acting solutions for the environmental market

Evonik’s HYPROX^®, CLARMARIN^® and PERACLEAN^® are ideal for wastewater treatment and environmentally benign compounds with high effectiveness. Oxidation processes are environmentally superior to treatments with chlorine.

Both hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid are environmentally safe disinfectants to treat wastewater streams from municipal and industrial sources. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), with its natural oxidant properties, breaks down to oxygen and water. Peracetic acid is similarly environmentally benign, degrading into water, oxygen and acetic acid - the acidic component of table vinegar -which is readily biodegradable. Both types of products are highly effective and environmentally superior to treatments using chlorine.

With its HYPROX^® and CLARMARIN® product lines, Evonik produces grades of hydrogen peroxide that are ideal for waste water treatment. Tailored to the requirements of various applications, Evonik also offers multiple grades of peracetic acid under the brand PERACLEAN^®.

Hydrogen peroxide is increasingly replacing chlorine as the standard pretreatment to prevent hydrogen sulfide from entering wastewater treatment facilities, as sulfides cause unpleasant odor and corrode equipment. Hydrogen peroxide produces no harmful by-products, but improves the water’s dissolved oxygen content, which enables the breakdown of organic materials by beneficial aerobic bacteria.

Peracetic acid is an attractive solution, because the efficient reagent does not leave harmful by-products behind. As a strong oxidant, peracetic acid is often used to remove harmful bacteria in the last step before treated wastewater is discharged into the environment. Peracetic acid is unique among potential biocides in combining a “high” environmental safety score with a “high” rating for its effectiveness as a biocide for fluids.

Peracetic acid and H2O2 can also be combined. “A one-two treatment of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid makes an inexpensive, environmentally safe system to control both odor and microbial growth,” says Robert Gec, Evonik’s product technical manager, peracetic acid, for North America. “In the first stage you treat the water with hydrogen peroxide to oxidize the sulfides. Then you do a biocide treatment with peracetic acid.”

Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP) using hydrogen peroxide can even remove traces of “micro-pollutants,” such as pharmaceuticals, which can pass through conventional municipal sewage works and remain bioactive even in minute concentrations. For higher efficacy, hydrogen peroxide is activated by UV light, Fenton’s Reagent (ferrous iron), or Ozone.

Oxidation processes are applicable for wastewater treatment in a broad spectrum of industrial sectors, e.g. in the oil & gas or chemical industry.

Hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid combine extreme versatility and efficacy with a safe environmental profile. Furthermore, oxidation processes are cost-effective: Existing chlorine infrastructure can be converted to peracetic acid by retrofitting with little capital expenditure required and there is little to no cost penalty in using hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine.

For further information please visit http://bit.ly/evonik-water-treatment.