Treatment of petroleum refinery effluent using ultrasonic irradiation

Ultrasonic irradiation is one of the advanced oxidation methods used in wastewater treatment. In this study, ultrasonic treatment of petroleum refinery effluent was examined. An ultrasonic homogenizator with a 20 kHz frequency and an ultrasonic bath with a 42 kHz frequency were used as a source for ultrasound. The effects of parameters such as ZnO amount, ozone saturation time, and type of ultrasound source on the degradation of petroleum refinery effluent were investigated. The degradation of petroleum refinery effluent was measured as a change in initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) and with time. According to the results, degradation increased with the addition of ZnO in an ultrasonic probe. There was also a positive effect of ozone saturation before sonication then applying ultrasound on the degradation for an ultrasonic probe. It was observed that there was no positive effect of ZnO addition and ozone saturation on degradation for an ultrasonic bath.