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Article Type

Article

Abstract

The treated wastewater by the industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), commonly named (INGECO) in Al-Doura refinery, suffers from highly sulfate concentrations that exceed the EPA specified limits of 250 mg/L. Laboratory water quality historical data have been reviewed and analyzed to determine the annual rate, maximum, and peak sulfate concentrations, which were found to be 360 mg/L, 425 mg/L, and 550 mg/L, respectively. A field inspection was conducted to identify the reasons for the high sulfate concentrations in the wastewater of most refinery process units. It was found that the maximum required sulfate remaining concentration should not exceed 10 mg/L for use in energy units. In this study, approximately 78 samples were taken from industrial wastewater and prepared for average, maximum, and peak sulfate concentrations to utilize the ion exchange method using strong base anion (Amberlite IRA402 OH) resin. The results obtained using strong base anion resin indicated the optimal dosage, mixing time, and mixing speed for sulfate removal for reuse purposes. For average, maximum, and peak concentrations, the parameters were 85 g/L, 30 min, and 83 rpm; 70 g/L, 16 min, and 75 rpm; and 100 g/L, 17 min, and 80 rpm, respectively. For disposal purposes, the parameters were 0.56 g/L, 16 min, and 100 rpm; 5.8 g/L, 10 min, and 88 rpm; and 8 g/L, 12 min, and 70 rpm, respectively. This method advantages include achieving highly sulfate removal and being cost-effective with treatment costs of 0.07 $US/m3 and 0.0007 $US/m3 for reuse and disposal, respectively. The primary disadvantage is the production of a saline solution, necessitating additional disposal costs.

Keywords

Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), Industrial Wastewater, Sulfate Concentration, Al-Doura refinery.

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