Removal Characteristics of Cyclic Ethers in Biological Wastewater Treatment System

The fate of two cyclic ethers, THF(Tetrahydrofuran) and 1,4-Dioxane, in conventional biological wastewater treatment plants was investigated using sequential activated sludge process. Removal efficiency of THF were about 86% in average, which was greater than that of 1,4-Dioxane, 30%. However, it was not clear whether the removal of cyclic ethers in biological system was caused by microbial activity or not. Thus treatability tests were conducted by batch experiments. The effects of mixing, aeration and the addition of activated sludge on the removal of cyclic ethers were investigated in batch experiments. THF was totally removed by mixing and aeration in 24 hours while removal ratio of 1,4-Dioxane was at most 30% for the same period. This results could be ascribed to the differences in Henry's law constants between the two chemicals. In addition, biological degradation including biosorption was not obviously observed in these batch tests.