Comparative study of wastewater treatment efficiency: ozone vs. atmospheric oxygen with a manganese dioxide catalyst

ABSTRACT This study aims to validate the wastewater treatment technique and compare the effectiveness of applying an ozone mixture and atmospheric oxygen in the presence of a catalyst (manganese dioxide) with various dosages. A total of 540 replicates were performed, corresponding to different levels of manganese dioxide concentrations during oxygen and ozone delivery (270 repetitions for each of the experiments). The research was carried out using an experimental setup developed by the authors. The maximum efficiency of oxidation processes was observed within 15–30 min after the start of the treatment cycle. The decrease in the level of chemical oxygen demand within the first quarter-hour during ozone treatment was significantly greater compared to atmospheric oxygen treatment (p ≤ 0.05). The method's efficiency increased to 53% for ozone and 41% for oxygen after 30 min of purification (p ≤ 0.05). Lower catalyst consumption was observed when using an ozone mixture. The tested technology can be recommended for wastewater treatment with high hydrocarbon concentrations. The findings of the study indicated the potential application of ozone treatment with a manganese catalyst for treating wastewater with high hydrocarbon content, thereby fostering the development of more effective water purification methods in the industrial sector.