1,4-Dioxane is an industrial chemical which is commonly used as a stabilizer for chlorinated solvents. It is a by-products of certain chemical manufacturing processes and can be found in some consumer products, including personal care products and household cleaners. 1,4-Dioxane is frequently used as a solvent during the manufacturing process of pharmaceutical and natural health products.
1,4-Dioxane is a highly flammable liquid and vapour, causing serious irritation to the eyes and it may cause respiratory irritation. Large exposure of 1,4-Dioxane can have a much harmful effect such as liver and kidney damage. The substance is not banned but is strongly regulated by some governments based on being a potential human carcinogen.
Rhys Davies
Wastewater consultant
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A market leader in the production of speciality chemicals approached Arvia with the goal to remove 1,4-Dioxane from their wastewater. The client was looking for an effective water treatment process to reduce the levels of 1,4-Dioxane from their effluent.
The company has seven sites that use 1,4-Dioxane in ethoxylation processes within their global manufacturing facilities. Some client facilities are in the USA where new legislation restricts the amount of 1,4-Dioxane allowed in effluent to 1 µg/L. The client objective is to remove 1,4-Dioxane from 1800 mg/L to 0.15 mg/L to comply with current restrictions.
Pharmaceutical company, US
1,4-Dioxane has been listed as a chemical of high concern in several US states due to the fact it is a potential carcinogen and has been detected in ground water across the country. This has raised awareness of the potential dangers of 1,4-Dioxane and in turn has led to our client’s customers asking how they plan to stop 1,4-Dioxane from entering the environment. This customer pressure has forced our client to approach us for our solution to remove 1,4-Dioxane from water.
Tell us what organic compounds you need to remove from your water and our consultants will give their recommended approach which might involve:
Our client has used granular activated carbon (GAC) on other sites but are not keen on the idea of trapping the 1,4-Dioxane in the GAC and moving it somewhere else.
As an alternative solution to GAC, we proposed our Nyex Ellenox water treatment technology which is an electrochemical oxidation process that produces powerful hydroxyl (·OH) radicals that remove pollutants such as 1,4-Dioxane from industrial wastewater. Through the treatment process the ·OH radicals eliminates the organic contaminant which then fully mineralises the chemical into gas, that is safely vented away, and water which leaves as clean effluent.
The Nyex Ellenox process allows our client to save on operating costs and enables them to utilise an eco-friendly solution with no chemical dosing or toxic sludge to deal with.
The original objective of our client was to reduce 1,4-Dioxane from 1800 mg/L to 0.15 mg/L.
We worked closely with the client, testing samples provided from a manufacturing site on both the Nyex Rosalox and Nyex Ellenox systems to determine which system had the best performance. It was found the Nyex Ellenox treatment process is the most suitable treatment to remove 1,4-Dioxane from the client’s industrial wastewater.
Arvia deployed the Nyex Ellenox treatment method and in 55 hours the Ellenox reached 0.009mg/l which required 1581k kWh/m³ of energy. We successfully exceeded our clients original target and removed 1,4-Dioxane all the way down to trace levels.
The graph shows the treatment profile for the removal of 1,4-Dioxane using the Nyex Ellenox system.
Since 1,4-Dioxane has been listed by the ECHA as a chemical of high concern, regulations have tightened regarding the usage and disposal of the hazardous substance. At Arvia we can help chemical speciality manufacturing companies with 1,4-Dioxane removal from water.
Our water treatment process is more environmentally friendly than conventional treatment processes with lower operating costs.
With more ongoing projects, we have seen that electrochemical oxidation is the most efficient method of removing 1,4-Dioxane from industrial wastewater.
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Case study shows how our Nyex Ellenox system achieved over 99% removal rate of Triton X 100 (4-tert-OPnEO) from pharmaceutical wastewater.
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>99% reduction in phenol allowed safe discharge.
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Successful removal of recalcitrant COD avoided chemicals in the effluent destroying the bacteria, central to the biological process action.
We remove APIs and hard-to-treat micropollutants from wastewater for pharma, CDMOs, animal health, biotech and biopharma sectors.
We help specialty chemical companies clean their process water, removing active ingredients, biocides, recalcitrant COD and micropollutants.
Our industrial wastewater treatment process is very effective in removing organic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.
We provide industrial wastewater treatment solutions removing biocides and other micropollutants in wash water and blowdown water.
Our aquaculture wastewater treatment removes pesticides used to treat sea lice, as well as medicines and off-flavours found in RAS facilities.
