Cleaner production potential in the acrylic fiber industry | |
| Author | Apipong Lamsam |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-04-03 |
| Subject(s) | Acrylic fiber industry Green products |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. EV-04-03 |
| Abstract | This study involved application of cleaner production concept to the selected acrylic fiber industry in Thailand. Although, the acrylic fiber mill effluent complies with industrial discharge standard in Thailand, tough competition, more stringent discharge standard and its commitment toward environment protection has prompted the industry to look for further improvement. The effluent quality of existing wastewater treatment plant does not meet the internal reuse standard, due to high TDS. Therefore, the study aims to investigate reuse and recycle potential of treated water from the production process. The study program involved identification of water inputs and outputs, characterization of waste streams, treatability study and reuse and recycle assessment of treated water. Six waste streams from production process have been identified, and their characteristics were determined. Wastewater segregation option has been developed to treat combined low pollution load stream and combined high pollution load stream separately. Treatability of combined low pollution load stream was conducted in two phases. Phase I involved wastewater treatment by biological process followed by membrane filtration. Phase II involved membrane filtration of high molecular weight polymer followed by treatment of retentate with biological process. Phase I investigation revealed that biological process could not successfully remove COD and TKN from the wastewater, due to non-biodegradable nature of the acrylic polymer. The maximum steady state efficiency of the process for COD as well as TKN removal was 57% to 58%. On the other hand, ultrafiltration showed significant improvement m permeate quality. COD and TKN removal were 79% and 66% respectively. In phase II, membrane filtration of wastewater yielded COD and TKN removal of 80-86% and 20-80% respectively. The retentate wastewater was treated in biological process. The non-biodegradable nature of the retentate reduced the efficiency of the biological process significantly. COD and TKN removal of 20 % and 40% respectively were obtained in this stage. The study confirmed that treated water quality from membrane filtration process could be used as make up water in turbine generator cooling towers. |
| Year | 2004 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. EV-04-03 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Annachhatre, Ajit P. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Visvanathan, Chettiyappan; Thammarat Koottatep |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government Fellowship |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2004 |