Addressing challenges and advancing solutions: Enhancing semi-coking wastewater treatment for a sustainable prospect

Abstract

During the semi-coke process, the semi-coking wastewater (SCWW) produced contains high concentrations of organic pollutants. This wastewater has the characteristics of abundant coal tar, high ammonia nitrogen content, high phenol concentration, high chemical oxygen demand (COD), and a low B/C ratio. These features make its treatment extremely difficult and bring significant environmental risks. Given that such wastewater is difficult to meet discharge standards, researchers have been actively exploring and applying various physical, chemical and biological treatment technologies, thus forming multiple wastewater treatment processes. This paper systematically and comprehensively studies the current research status and practical application scenarios of SCWW treatment technologies, and summarizes their application effects in practice. In response to the problems and challenges in wastewater treatment, this paper deeply analyzes and proposes feasible improvement paths and future development directions. At the same time, it also comprehensively reviews the current status of resource recovery. Research on the physical-chemical pretreatment stage, biochemical treatment, advanced treatment, and the sustainability characteristics of various treatment technologies for SCWW is conducted. The aim is to provide valuable reference insights for researchers and practitioners in related fields, thereby promoting technological innovation and sustainable development in this field.

Keywords: Bioaugmentation; Coal chemical industry; Refractory organic pollutants; Resource recovery; Semi-coking wastewater.