Advanced treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater with a combined Fe-C micro-electrolysis/EGSB system assisted by microalgae

An integrated process of iron/carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME)-expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB)-microalgae reactor (MR) was developed for treating pharmaceutical wastewater with initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 25000-28500 mg/L. The results show that, under the optimum conditions, the removal ratio of COD, total suspended solids (TSS), color, NH3-N, and total phosphorus were 99.2%, 98.4%, 97.5%, 95.3%, and 78.9%, respectively. The ICME removed a considerable proportion of TSS and color, and improved the biodegradability of the wastewater, while the EGSB played an important role in the removal of residual COD, and finally, post-polish treatment was achieved in the MR.

Automated summary

An integrated process of ICME-EGSB-MR was developed for treating pharmaceutical wastewater, achieving high removal efficiencies of COD, TSS, color, NH3-N, and total phosphorus. ICME and EGSB played crucial roles in the treatment process, with the MR providing post-polish treatment.