Evaluation of biological treatment of pharmaceutical wastewater with pac addition. Project summary

The purposes of the study were to: (1) attempt to find the cause of the formation of the viscous floating mass of mixed liquor solids (VFMLS), (2) generate additional research data for total chemical oxygen demand (TCOD) removal from pharmaceutical wastewater using the PACT process, (3) evaluate the efficiency of PACT in removing specific organics, (4) evaluate the effectiveness of PACT in reducing effluent aquatic toxicity, and (5) evaluate the use of a selector to improve the settling characteristics of the mixed liquor. One control unit, two PACT units, and a unit equipped with a series of selector basins were operated.