Feasibility Study on Applying the CDOF Integrated Ozone Flotation Unit to Pharmaceutical Wastewater Treatment

Pharmaceutical wastewater suffers from several major pain points, namely "complex composition, poor biodegradability, high salinity and toxicity, and wide fluctuation", which make it extremely difficult to treat. CDFU+CDOF combine a "pre-treatment + advanced oxidation" process design with a targeted degradation logic, solving at the root the dilemma of conventional processes: "weak synergy, poor shock resistance, difficult compliance and high cost".

I. Synergistic Degradation: Integrated "impurity removal + ring opening + detoxification", striking at the root of pollution

For the composite pollution profile of pharmaceutical wastewater, namely "many suspended solids + a high share of refractory organics + strong toxicity", SINOKLE CDFU (cyclonic dissolved-air flotation unit) + CDOF (integrated ozone advanced catalytic oxidation unit) technology can achieve a "1+1>2" synergistic process effect.

· Front-end CDFU (cyclonic dissolved-air flotation unit): efficient load reduction

It adopts the dual-effect technology of "cyclonic shearing + micro-bubble dissolved air", generating ultra-fine micro-nano bubbles 5-20 μm in diameter and increasing the collision efficiency with mycelia, colloidal particles and macromolecular organics in the wastewater by 3 times, with an SS removal rate of over 95%. This not only greatly reduces the pollutant load on the subsequent catalytic oxidation, but also prevents the catalyst surface from being covered by impurities and losing activity, extending catalyst service life by more than 30%.

· Back-end CDOF (integrated ozone catalytic oxidation unit): targeted ring opening and detoxification

Equipped with SINOKLE's patented catalyst, it can activate ozone at ambient temperature and pressure to rapidly generate hydroxyl radicals (·OH) with an oxidation potential as high as 2.8 V, attacking antibiotic residues, heterocyclic compounds, benzene series and other refractory pollutants non-selectively. The degradation rate for heterocyclic organics in chemically synthesized pharmaceutical wastewater reaches 85%-99%, the removal rate of residual antibiotics in biological fermentation wastewater exceeds 99%, and it effectively raises the B/C ratio of the wastewater, breaking the "hard to biodegrade" bottleneck.

II. Strong Shock Resistance: Wide-range adaptation + intelligent regulation, stably coping with fluctuations in water quality and volume

The sharp fluctuations in water quality and volume caused by "batch production" of pharmaceutical wastewater are the core cause of frequent instability in conventional processes. CDFU, CDOF units achieve stable operation through a dual design of "hardware tolerance + software intelligence":

· Wide-range water quality adaptability

They can directly treat various pharmaceutical wastewaters (chemical synthesis, biological fermentation and formulation production) with COD 5000-100000 mg/L, salinity ≤5% and pH 3-11, achieving good treatment results even for low B/C ratio, highly toxic wastewater, without the need for additional pre-treatment conditioning units.

· Intelligent dynamic response system

Equipped with a PLC intelligent control system and online monitoring modules (real-time monitoring of COD, pH, ozone concentration and dissolved oxygen), when water quality fluctuates (such as a sudden rise in COD), the system can automatically adjust the ozone dosage, flotation operating pressure and wastewater residence time within 30 minutes, ensuring stable treatment performance.

· Corrosion-resistant and stable hardware structure

The equipment body uses 316L stainless steel plus anti-corrosion coating, and the internal flow channels are designed to suit high-salinity, highly corrosive wastewater, with a service life of more than 10 years and none of the leakage or efficiency decay problems caused by corrosion in conventional processes.

III. Compliance Assurance: Full-dimension coverage + no secondary pollution, meeting stringent environmental requirements

With the implementation of the "Guideline on Available Techniques for Pollution Prevention and Control in the Pharmaceutical Industry" and the "Action Plan for the Management of New Pollutants", pharmaceutical wastewater must not only meet conventional indicators but also control new pollutants such as antibiotics and heterocyclic compounds. SINOKLE CDFU+CDOF combined process, with its deep degradation capability, achieves dual compliance for both "conventional indicators + new pollutants":

· Stable compliance with conventional indicators

After treatment, the effluent COD can be stably reduced to 60-100 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen to ≤5 mg/L and the color removal rate to ≥90%, fully meeting GB 21904-2008 "Discharge Standard of Water Pollutants for Pharmaceutical Industry — Chemical Synthesis Products Category" and local upgrading requirements.

· Precise control of new pollutants

(·OH) Hydroxyl radicals degrade sulfonamide, quinolone and cephalosporin antibiotics at rates exceeding 99%, leaving extremely low residual antibiotic concentrations far below the control limits in the "List of Priority Controlled Chemicals"; they also efficiently decompose toxic intermediates such as halogenated organics and nitro compounds, with a toxicity removal rate of over 85%, fundamentally avoiding the risk of environmental penalties.

· No secondary pollution risk

Ozone finally decomposes into oxygen (no harmful gas emissions), and sludge generation is reduced by 60%-70% compared with conventional processes, with no sludge secondary disposal pressure, perfectly matching the "dual carbon" goals and the concept of green development.

(Pharmaceutical wastewater treatment performance)

IV. Energy Saving and Cost Reduction: Full-lifecycle cost cuts + flexible adaptation, matching the actual needs of pharmaceutical companies

Pharmaceutical companies' core requirement for wastewater treatment is not merely "compliance" — they also pursue "low cost and easy operation and maintenance". Through integrated, modular design, costs are reduced across the whole lifecycle of investment, operation and maintenance:

· Low investment cost, small footprint

The skid-mounted integrated design occupies only 40%-50% of the floor space of conventional split processes, requires no complex piping or civil works, shortens the installation period to 15-30 days, and reduces initial investment by 20%-30% compared with conventional processes.

· Controllable operating costs, high efficiency

The dedicated catalyst raises ozone utilization to over 85% (conventional ozone processes achieve only 40%-60%), with an OC ratio (ratio of ozone dosage to COD) ≤1, cutting chemical consumption by 30%-40% compared with conventional processes. At the same time, the system's degree of automation exceeds 95%, requiring no dedicated attendance and only periodic inspection of the catalyst (replaced every 3-5 years), so O&M costs are only 60%-70% of those of conventional processes.

· Flexible adaptation to different treatment scenarios

It can serve as a core treatment unit to directly achieve compliant discharge, as a pre-treatment unit to improve wastewater biodegradability before connecting to a biological system, or as an advanced treatment unit to solve effluent upgrading problems. Standard skid-mounted modules can be used for small pharmaceutical companies, while multiple modules can be connected in parallel for large pharmaceutical parks, offering extremely strong adaptability.