Webinar title: Catalytic Oxidation Treatment of Medium- to High-Concentration Refractory Organic Wastewater
Speaker: Chih-pin Huang
Webinar time: February 17th, 2025 (Monday) 10:00
Venue: Room 231, New Environmental Building
Inviter: Zhimin Qiang, Wentao Li
Abstract:
Approximately 30% of ammonia nitrogen in industrial wastewater originates from the petrochemical industry (including petrochemical industrial zones). Given the challenges in treating high-nitrogen process wastewater from the petrochemical and chemical industries, discharge standards differentiate between high-nitrogen and non-high-nitrogen processes. Moreover, treating refractory industrial wastewater often requires space-intensive biological treatment or cost-intensive chemical treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to develop technologies that are compact and cost-effective to operate.
To address the technical bottlenecks in treating medium- to high-concentration refractory organic wastewater, our team has developed a sludge-free, regenerable catalyst wastewater treatment technology known as catalytic oxidative activated carbon (COAC). COAC uses activated carbon as a substrate, applying thin-film preparation techniques to coat its surface with ruthenium and other heavy metals. Organic matter is adsorbed into the pores of the activated carbon due to its inherent adsorption capacity, and catalytic oxidation is carried out by the noble metals coated within the pores. This study tested several types of organic nitrogen wastewater with different primary components and found that the ease of treatment using the catalytic oxidative technology is structure-dependent. From easiest to hardest, the compounds include dimethylacetamide (DMAC), ethoxyamine, acrylonitrile, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), and fluorescent whitening agents. After COAC catalyst/ozone treatment, it is estimated that over 90% of the organic nitrogen can be directly converted into nitrogen, with ammonia and nitrate conversion rates below 10%. Furthermore, the process generates virtually no sludge. This technology has been successfully applied to treat ethoxyamine wastewater from high-tech factories and NMP wastewater from lithium battery cell manufacturers, establishing practical applications. It has been verified that this catalytic oxidative technology, compared to traditional advanced oxidation processes, offers advantages such as sludge-free operation, low operating costs, reduced chemical usage, and low ammonia/nitrate conversion rates.
About the speaker:
Professor Chihpin Huang holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Delaware and both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Environmental Engineering from National Cheng Kung University. He has served as a faculty member at the Institute of Environmental Engineering at National Chiao Tung University (NCTU) for over 30 years. Currently, he is a Lifetime Distinguished Professor appointed by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) and the Director of the Research Center for Environmental Technology and Intelligent Systems. He has also held leadership roles as Vice President of NCTU and Vice President of the Taiwan University System. Throughout his research career, Professor Huang has received numerous accolades, including the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Outstanding Research Award and Outstanding Special Research Fellow Award. Additionally, he has been honored with the Ministry of Education’s Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation Advisor Award, the Environmental Engineering Society’s Engineering Medal, the Taiwan Water Works Association’s Academic Excellence Contribution Award, the Hou Jin-Dui Distinguished Honor Award, and was named an Overseas Honorary Academician by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists.
Professor Huang specializes in water treatment and sludge treatment engineering. Alongside his reputation as a distinguished academic scholar in engineering, he has actively engaged in industrial technology research and product development. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of the Taiwan Water Industry Development Association and the Convener of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Water Purification Industry-Academia Alliance.