Recent developments in chelate degradation

M. Sillanpää, K. Pirkanniemi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Chelating agents are used in various industrial processes to inactivate transition metals by forming cyclic complexes. As nitrogen containing compounds, these substances increase the nitrogen load in wastewater. Also, they increase the heavy metal concentrations in the wastewater effluent. It has been long recognised that EDTA and DTPA are relatively recalcitrant compounds and thus pass through wastewater treatment without adequate removal. A number of interesting studies on the degradability of EDTA and DTPA - either by advanced oxidation processes or biological processes - have been carried out recently. This review focuses mainly on these two compounds.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)791-801
Number of pages11
JournalEnvironmental Technology (United Kingdom)
Volume22
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Advanced oxidation processes
  • Biological degradation
  • DTPA
  • EDTA

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Water Science and Technology
  • Waste Management and Disposal

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