Diseño de una planta de tratamiento de efluentes provenientes de la producción de resina urea-formaldehído mediante la aplicación de un proceso Fenton modificado

Abstract

The present work aimed to design a treatment plant of effluents from urea-formaldehyde resin production, by applying a modified Fenton process with tartaric acid. First, mass and energy balances were elaborated according to both the physicochemical characterization of the effluent from an Ecuadorian company and the results of an investigation project at laboratory scale. Each one of the unit operations of the treatment process were defined. The characteristic diagrams of design were plotted, such as: block flow diagram (BFD), process flow diagram (PFD) and piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs). The main equipment designed included: a Fenton reactor, a complex-formation tank, a conditioning jacketed tank, a flocculation tank and a sedimentation tank; and the agitation system for each tank. The secondary equipment selected were: a heat exchanger, diaphragm pumps, hand valves and control valves, piping and fittings. The treatment cost was 2,10 USD m-3 for a design flow of 0,4 m3 h-1. The cost-benefit ratio obtained was greater than one, which means that for every invested dollar on the treatment plant, the company avoids a cost of 7,31 USD due to environmental infraction fines.