Title : Advanced and synergistic treatment strategies for rubber industry wastewater: From conventional methods to ozone-based integrated systems
Abstract:
Water pollution is a major global concern that threatens both environmental sustainability and human health. Rapid industrialization and population growth have intensified the consumption of freshwater resources and led to the discharge of industrial effluents, agricultural runoff, and domestic waste into water bodies, resulting in widespread environment contaminations. Rubber industry is recognized as one of the primary contributors to wastewater pollution in the Malaysia. Latex centrifugation and multiple washing processes use a lot of water, resulting in effluents that are highly organic matter, including lipids, proteins, sugars, volatile acids, ammonical nitrogen (NH3-N), Phosphorus contents(PO₄³⁻-P) unstable pH, suspended solids, strong odor and elevated BOD and COD. Moreover, the expansion of glove and condom production has also raised environmental challenges, because effluent from these industries contain major contents of latex residues, pigments e.g. Phthalocyanine Blue, Red E3B 130, Blue A2R 131 and dyes e.g. Sunset yellow (FCF), and other contaminants that harm the ecosystem, moreover difficult to remove by simple processes. Thus discharge of untreated rubber effluent to waterways resulting in water pollution that affects the human health and aquatic life severely. With a new global trend towards a sustainable development, the industry needs to focus on cleaner production technology, waste minimization, utilization of waste, resource recovery and recycling of water to satisfy the standard discharge limits (SDL) via traditional and modern technologies. This comprehensive review paper presents the current status of rubber industry, its environmental impacts, discussion of traditional and modern treatment methods, including physical, chemical, biological and advanced oxidation processes categorizing them into pre-treatment, secondary, and tertiary treatment processes the advantages and disadvantages. Special attention is made to elaborate the ozone based synergetic methods emerging with nanotechnology and other advanced processes. Besides, this review paper discovers more about the potential of reactors and integrated methods which apply the synergetic effectiveness of processes to achieve the recycling of treated wastewater and the sustainable development of water resources. These new and effective effluent treatment methods would minimize environmental pollution of rubber industry and bring it to become sustainable and environmental friendly in Malaysia. Lastly, challenges and future perspectives in developing treatment technology for rubber industry wastewater are proposed to achieve sustainable and integrated water management. The paper also explores the potential of utilizing untreated or treated wastewater and by-products of wastewater treatment in contributing towards achieving several United Nations sustainable development goals (UN-SDGs); SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 9, and SDG 12.
