Coke dust enhances coke plant wastewater treatment.

Coke plant wastewater contain many toxic pollutants. Despite physico-chemical and biological treatment this specific type of wastewater has a significant impact on environment and human health. This article presents results of research on industrial adsorptive coke plant wastewater treatment. As a sorbent the coke dust, dozen times less expensive than pulverized activated carbon, was used. Treatment was conducted in three scenarios: adsorptive after full treatment with coke dust at 15 g L(-1), biological treatment enhanced with coke dust at 0.3-0.5 g L(-1) and addition of coke dust at 0.3 g L(-1) prior to the biological treatment. The enhanced biological treatment proved the most effective. It allowed additional removal of 147-178 mg COD kg(-1) of coke dust.