Abstract

Bleached Kraft mill effluent was treated in an activated sludge reactor followed by an allophanic soil adsorption system (ASAS). Under aerobic conditions, removal efficiencies of biological oxygen demand (BOD5) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) varied between 57.7-96.5% and 30.3-57.0%, respectively, depending on the hydraulic retention time (HRT). On the other hand, tannin-lignin and phenolic compounds removal efficiencies attained values between 13.2-51.2 and 3.6-33.5%, respectively. An allophanic soil adsorption system was designed for color and phenolic compounds removal. Three different types of soils were used: Natural allophanic soil as the control compared, with calcinated and acidified allophanic soil. The initial removal efficiencies for phenolic compounds varied between 72 an 87% for activated soils, while color initial removal efficiencies were between 95 and 99%. Moreover, COD and tannin-lignin initial removal efficiencies reached maximum values of 74 and 87%, respectively, for calcinated soil. Design parameters show that there is an enhancement factor in adsorption capacities for both activated soils. In fact, phenolic compounds breakpoint adsorption capacity increased 5.3 times for calcinated soil and 17.6 times for acidified soil, while saturation capacity increased between 2.2 and 3.2 times. In addition, color breakpoint adsorption capacity increased 2.8 times for calcinated soil and 10.4 times for acidified soil, while saturation capacity increased between 3.2 and 5.5 times.