A coupled photocatalytic–biological process for degradation of 1-amino-8-naphthol-3, 6-disulfonic acid (H-acid

There has been growing emphasis on the development of coupled treatment systems (e.g., advanced oxidation–biological) for treating poorly biodegradable wastewater. An attempt has been made in the present study to couple photocatalytic (TiO2/UV) pretreatment with conventional activated sludge process to achieve improvement in the biodegradation of H-acid. The combination of titanium dioxide and UV light has been known to generate strong oxidants that degrade several organic pollutants into carbon dioxide via the formation of some intermediates. The intermediates formed may undergo biodegradation readily. Accordingly, photodegradation experiments were carried out initially at an optimized TiO2 dose and the minimum pretreatment time required for transforming H-acid was identified. For this purpose, UV–vis spectrophotometry and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were extensively used. Subsequently, it was attempted to biodegrade untreated and pretreated H-acid using activated sludge from the textile industry acclimatized to H-acid. It was found that photocatalytic pretreatment of H-acid for 30 min, during which period approximately 8–10% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal occurred, can be coupled to second-stage biological treatment for achieving enhanced biodegradation of H-acid.