Scaled‐Up Sustainable Wastewater Treatment of Tertiary Effluent for the Removal of Chromophores Using Dual Advanced Oxidation Processes

ABSTRACT Chromophores are the color‐causing constituents, which are leached into processed water of many industries. The aim of the study is to optimize a scaled‐up treatment system (100 L) for removal of chromophores by integrating the activity of two Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). A novel sustainable catalytic composite (SCC) has been developed using clay and industrial wastes like fly ash (FA) and foundry sand (FS), which are rich sources of iron, with titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) immobilized over its surface, making this composite suitable for the reactor bed and baffles. Utilization of these wastes in fabrication includes dual benefits, namely: waste to valuation and iron source for the photo‐Fenton reaction. A fixed bed reactor at pilot scale (100 L) has been designed for treatment of tertiary colored effluent. The technology established includes coupling of photo‐Fenton and photocatalysis operational under sunlight. The focus was to optimize the said technology for industries like paper, textile, and tanning industries for decolorization of their large volumes of wastewater. The two crucial parameters, pH and oxidant dosage, were optimized for decolorization of tertiary effluent. The colorimetric analysis revealed the maximum color removal of 87.5% at pH 4.5–5 with an H 2 O 2 dosage of 450 mg/L after 60 min of treatment time. The coupling of photocatalysis and the photo‐Fenton approach was demonstrated to be a sustainable technology for the degradation of the chromophores. The technology is sunlight driven with the integration of a circular economy approach, as the photocatalytic liners for the reactor were made of iron‐rich industrial waste.