Characteristics of effluents from healthcare waste treatment with alkaline hydrolysis

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2016

Authors

Sílvia C. Pinho (Author) FEUP; Manuel F. Almeida (Author) FEUP; Olga C. Nunes (Author) FEUP; Carmen S. D. Rodrigues (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Water and Environment Journal

Vol. 30 No. 3-4

Pages: 211-217

ISSN: 1747-6585

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 0 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology > Environmental engineering

CORDIS: Natural sciences > Environmental science > Water science > Wastewater treatment

Associated Projects

LEPABE - Laboratório de Engenharia de Processos, Ambiente, Biotecnologia e Energia

PTDC/SAU-SAP/114855/2009 - Hidrólise alcalina de resíduos hospitalares infecciosos

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00M-9BE

DOI: 10.1111/wej.12180

Abstract (EN): Although alkaline hydrolysis emerges as an alternative process to treat healthcare waste (HCW), information about its emissions is scarce, namely as regards effluents production. This work aims to characterize the effluents from alkaline hydrolysis tests with samples of components usually present in HCW, under a temperature of 110 degrees C and with 1 M NaOH aqueous solutions. Some of the regulatory parameters for discharging effluents were determined; also, tests for assessing aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of those effluents were carried out. The effluents showed values lower than threshold values for almost all the parameters except pH, total nitrogen, TOC, COD and BOD5. Although with high organic load, the effluents from discarded medical components (DMC) and animal tissues (AT) showed a percentage of aerobic biodegradation of 50.5 and 52.9%, respectively. The anaerobic biodegradability obtained for the effluents from DMC were 22.3 and 42.2% for those with AT.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7