A study on microwave removal of pyridine from wastewater

Pyridine is toxic and volatile N-containing organic pollutant. It occurs in the environment as effluents from different industries such as herbicides and pesticides manufacturing. Pyridine contaminated wastewater presents a great threat on water resources safety. In this study, a fundamental research had been carried out to explore the removal of pyridine in wastewater by microwave (MW) radiation. The effects of pH, radiation time, aeration, post irradiation and initial pyridine concentration on the removal were investigated. pH and radiation time showed significant influence on the removal efficiency. The largest removal was obtained at pH 9 in 5 min with initial pyridine-concentration of 20 ppm. The mechanism of pyridine removal was proposed as both thermal and non-thermal effects, which were responsible for the removal. In the end, it could be proposed that MW radiation was an effective method for the removal of pyridine from wastewater. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.