Elimination of APIs by UV Oxidation in Wastewater from CIP-Rinsing at a Multiple API-Formulation Facility Using Advanced
In order to achieve an environmentally-friendly and cost-effective solution to treating wastewater from CIP-rinses in their facility for multiple API formulations, Catalent in Eberbach, Germany, commissioned an advanced UV oxidation plant to reliably and flexibly treat their highly variable wastewater so it could be released directly into the municipal wastewater system. A comparison of alternative methods led to the selection of UV oxidation and laboratory tests and feasibility studies pinpointed the best oxidation procedure for the degradation of harmful and toxic compounds in the industrial effluent to be UV oxidation (Advanced Oxidation Process, AOP). After the implementation phase, a careful analysis of the first 6 batches of treated wastewater during validation verified the laboratory results, consistently achieving at least a 99.999 % destruction of all APIs examined, a significant reduction in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and an increase in biodegradability. Furthermore, considerable cost savings compared to the initial situation were attained.