Title: The study of the recovery of highly purified terephthalic acid from alkali weight-reduction wastewater

Authors: Liu Chaonan, Chen Jihua

Addresses: Department of Environment and Energy Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, No.120, Caobao Road, Shanghai, 200235, PR China. ' College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University No. 1882, West Yan-an Road, 200051, Shanghai, PR China

Abstract: A new process has been developed for recovering the terephthalic acid (TPA) with high purity from alkali weight-reduction wastewater. Three methods were used to purify the mother liquor: coagulation-sedimentation, carbon adsorption and the combination of these two methods. The results show that the nature of the TPA is greatly improved by coagulation-sedimentation or by carbon adsorption, however, the combination of the two methods is more efficient than either one of them used alone, the purity of recovered TPA can reach 99.3%. This result is important not only in recovering TPA from the wastewater, but also in recycling PET wastes.

Keywords: alkali weight-reduction wastewater; TPA recovery; coagulation-sedimentation; carbon adsorption; terephthalic acid; high purity; PET waste recycling; environmental pollution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2007.014234

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2007 Vol.29 No.4, pp.484 - 494

Published online: 26 Jun 2007 *

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