Title: Optimised treatment of Palm Oil Mill Effluent

Authors: Florence P.S. Wong, Jobrun Nandong, Yudi Samyudia

Addresses: Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus, CDT 250, 98009 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus, CDT 250, 98009 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia. ' Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Campus, CDT 250, 98009 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

Abstract: In this paper, we study experimentally the problem of separating oil from the oil–water emulsion that emulates Palm Oil Mills Effluent (POME). The investigations are focused on the effects of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and treatment conditions, e.g., operating temperature and magnetic stirring, on the separation process. The experiment results reveal that a higher flotation rate of oil is achieved after being treated using HCl. Similarly, the elevated operating temperature of the treatment enhances the oil separation from the emulsion. The introduction of magnet would produce higher rate of flotation than that of without magnet even in the absence of stirring.

Keywords: oil–water emulsion; POME; palm oil mill effluent; hydrochloric acid; temperature; magnetic stirring; optimised treatment; flotation rate; oil separation; magnets; wastewater treatment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2009.026343

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2009 Vol.3 No.3/4, pp.265 - 277

Published online: 07 Jun 2009 *

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