Browsing by Author "Barra-Hinojosa, Julio"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Assessment of tannery effluents quality treated by electrocoagulation and ozonation: Physicochemical and ecotoxicological characterization
    (Public Library of Science (PLoS), 2025-7-22) Aguilar-Ascón, Edwar; Marrufo-Saldaña, Liliana; Barra-Hinojosa, Julio; Buleje-Del-Carpio, Robert
    Tannery effluents are characterized by their high toxicity and complex pollutant load, posing significant risks to aquatic ecosystems. Although conventional treatment processes often achieve regulatory standards for pollutant concentrations, they do not necessarily guarantee the reduction of effluent toxicity. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of tannery effluents treated by electrocoagulation (EC) and the combined electrocoagulation-ozonation (ECO) process, while analyzing the associated toxicity reduction, in order to determine the suitability of these technologies for application and ensure environmental protection of receiving water bodies. For this purpose, tannery wastewater was treated sequentially using an electrocoagulation reactor followed by an ozonation system, yielding three sample types: raw (C), electrocoagulation-treated (EC), and electrocoagulation-ozonation treated (ECO). Physicochemical parameters were measured, toxicity was assessed through bioassays with Lactuca sativa and Eisenia fetida, and chemical changes were analyzed using FTIR spectroscopy.EC achieved 96.4% removal of total suspended solids (TSS), 30.9% of chemical oxygen demand (COD), and 99% of chromium, while ozonation further removed 10% of COD and 99% of sulfides. Toxicity assays indicated a reduction from 23.89 toxicity units (TUs) in the raw effluent to 8.32 TUs after EC and 11.12 TUs after ECO. The slight increase in toxicity after ozonation was associated with elevated ammoniacal nitrogen levels and the formation of new functional groups, as evidenced by the FTIR spectrum. Despite significant pollutant removal, the results highlight that treated effluents may still present residual toxicity, emphasizing the need for complementary treatment strategies to achieve true environmental safety.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Optimization of Chromium Removal from Tannery Effluents with Natural Zeolite Neonite
    (Wydawnictwo Naukowe Gabriel Borowski (WNGB), 2024-2-1) Barra-Hinojosa, Julio; Marrufo-Saldaña, Liliana; Salazar-Leiva, Victor; Gomez-León, Mónica; Solis-Veliz, Jose
    Chromium is the main constituent of the tanning salts used by tanneries for processing skins into leather, and considered as a pollutant in the effluents that this industry discharge. The present study aimed to evaluate the removal of chromium and other pollutants in effluents from the tanning industry applying the natural zeolite Neonite. Neonite is a commercially available zeolite, which was acquired from NEONITE S.A. Neonite was characterized through FTIR and XRD, identifying clinoptilolite as its main component. Treatment was applied to the samples of real effluents from the tanning stage or chromium bath (CB) and a composite effluent (CE), an experimental design was carried out for each effluent. The designs correspond to 32 factorial designs, the variables tested were the Neonite dosage (NE) measured in g/L, stirring time (StT) expressed in minutes and the pH of the sample, and the response variable was the residual chromium content (RCC). Statistical analysis was performed through R-software version 4.2.3 and included Box-Cox transformation and ANOVA to determine the main effects and the behavior of the response variable in relation to the applied model and its optimization by response surface. In CB, a removal above 95% was obtained for RCC, with optimization values at 32 g/L of NE and pH 7. In the CE, a removal of more than 98% was obtained for RCC and values higher than 60% for BOD, COD, TSS and Fats, being the optimal conditions 4.73 g/L of NE and 12.17 minutes of StT. These results demonstrate that the application of Neonite for the removal of chromium and other pollutants from tanning industry effluents has a great potential. © 2024 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.