REMOVAL OF ODOROUS COMPOUNDS FROM ALUMINA REFINERY CONDENSATES
Tardio J, Bhargava SK , Mullett M , Forster P
The aim of this project was to investigate the removal of odorous compounds from alumina refinery
digestion condensates sourced from alumina refineries situated in Western Australia, Queensland
and the Northern Territory. Odour reduction was investigated using commercially available oxidants
(hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, ozone, oxygen and sodium hypochlorite) and adsorbents (powdered activated carbon and smelting grade alumina) under different reaction conditions. The two processes that achieved the highest extent of odour reduction under the test conditions studied were potassium permanganate and powdered activated carbon. Both of these processes were capable of removing >70% of the condensate odour. Although powdered activated carbon and potassium permanganate are effective at removing odour from condensate there are a number of issues related to the use of these systems which would need to be resolved and / or significant improvements made before such systems could be implemented at an alumina refinery. These issues include removal of by-products (MnO2) and disposal of waste (spent carbon, MnO2).