BENEFITS OF USING

OXIDATION INSTEAD OF
USING ENZYME TO TREAT
STARCH
IN PAPER MAKING
Concept of Oxidation Vs Hydrolysis
Harmful effects of Hydrolysis in Paper Making
Long Term Effect of using Oxidation over Enzymatic
Treatment of Starch
What is Oxidation?
■ Meaning of oxidation is when oxygen is added to a compound. This was because
oxygen gas (O2) was the first known oxidizing agent. While the addition of oxygen to a
compound typically meets the criteria of electron loss and an increase in the oxidation
state.
■ This process creates powerful oxidizing agents in the form of hydroxide (OH–), but
more specifically, its neutral variant the hydroxyl radical (⦁OH). Its oxidation potential
is twice that of chlorine, a commonly used disinfectant. Hydroxyl radicals are the
driving forces behind many advanced oxidation processes. Ozone (O3), hydrogen
peroxide (H2O2), and ultraviolet light (UV) are often used in various combinations to
produce ⦁OH in sufficient quantities to degrade organic (and some inorganic) pollutants.
This process can reduce these pollutant concentrations, potentially from hundreds of
parts per million (ppm) to just a few parts per billion (ppb).
■ These radicals are non-selective, therefore, they attack almost all organic materials.
After these contaminants are broken down once by the ⦁OH radical they form
intermediates. Those intermediates themselves react with the oxidants and mineralize
into stable compound.
Benefits/Pros of using Oxidation:
■ Rapid reaction rates
The OH molecule has some of the fastest reaction rates of all of the oxidants used to treat
water and wastewater due to its high oxidation potentials and their non-selective nature.
These quick reactions result in much lower retention times than other conventional
treatment processes.
■ Small footprint
Because of the oxidation power of the ⦁OH radical, Advanced oxidation process units do
not require much land area to process the needed flow rate for the system.
■ Theoretically, do not introduce new hazardous substances into water
One of the issues with chlorine disinfection is the highly toxic by-products (DPB’s) that can
result after treatment. To prevent these by-products, an extra de-chlorination step is often
required before anything else can be accomplished with the treated water. The ⦁OH
molecule can combine to create water.
■ Mineralization of organics
AOP can convert the organic materials within the water into stable inorganic compounds
like water, carbon dioxide, and salts.
■ Can treat nearly all organic materials and can remove some heavy metals
The highly reactive nature of ⦁OH means these molecules will attack almost any organic
materials without discriminating, and therefore, can remove many different contaminants in
one reactor vessel, including reducing a few heavy metals.
■ Can work for disinfection
Especially when used with UV disinfection, the oxidation power of AOP systems make
them capable of acting as a disinfection step for any pathogens that may be present in the
water.
■ No sludge production as with chemical or biological processes
An advanced oxidation process does not treat water and wastewater by transferring
pollutants into another phase. Other treatment processes create solids like sludge that need
to be filtered out and dealt with separately.