Sustainable Treatment of Industrial Effluents in Oman using an Integrated Aerobic Bioreactor and UV Oxidation System

International Journal of Mechanical Engineering

© 2026 by SSRG - IJME Journal

Volume 13 Issue 3

Year of Publication : 2026

Authors : Bushra Al Rahbi, Amuthakkannan Rajakannu, Ahmad Naim Ahmad Yahaya, Saravanan A.M, Sabrina Karim, Priy Brat Dwivedi

10.14445/23488360/IJME-V13I3P108

How to Cite?

Bushra Al Rahbi, Amuthakkannan Rajakannu, Ahmad Naim Ahmad Yahaya, Saravanan A.M, Sabrina Karim, Priy Brat Dwivedi, "Sustainable Treatment of Industrial Effluents in Oman using an Integrated Aerobic Bioreactor and UV Oxidation System," SSRG International Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. 13,  no. 3, pp. 83-101, 2026. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23488360/IJME-V13I3P108

Abstract:

Untreated industrial effluents contain complex organic chemicals and heavy metals that pose a major threat to the environment. This study aims to investigate an integrated wastewater treatment system that includes a continuous aerobic bioreactor, algal culture, and a UV downstream reactor. System configuration and operational parameters were defined in Aspen Plus, a process design software, to optimise septic and treatment performance. A system-wide experimental study on parameter sensitivity was designed to characterise the system's physical-chemical properties and to evaluate its treatment and recovery of value through heavy-metal reclamation. Experimental analysis was performed using descriptive behaviour, chemistry, and various mechanistic models to describe the flow systems, the variables, and the reaction models of interest. The experimental results depict the integrated continuous aerobic bioreactor and UV reactor as a system with high operational reliability and consistent performance across a wide range of operational time periods, demonstrating high operational time reliability. The UV (disinfection) and Polishing Efforts, combined with the continuous aerobic bioreactor and algal culture operational system, facilitated an average effluent treatment system (20-7-20) that met stringent limits and average treatment goals for the targeted compliance discharge activities. The system’s operational parameters demonstrated high adaptability, as evidenced by the septage/composition super and cut-through to a variety of industry goals and flow treatment targets. Moreover, the integrated system positively impacts sustainable wastewater management by incorporating industrial effluent discharge. Overall, research confirms the integrated aerobic bioreactor–UV reactor approach as practical, versatile, and scalable, and it is optimistically viewed as a sustainable solution for industrial wastewater management. To improve performance, further optimise the system, and broaden its use in industry, a scale-up study is suggested.

Keywords:

Industrial wastewater, Aerobic bioreactor, Ultraviolet disinfection, Algal bioremediation, Heavy metal removal, AspenPlus, Process simulation and optimization.

References:

[1] Thafseela Koya et al., “Comparative Analysis of Lossless Compression Techniques in Efficient DCT-based Image Compression System based on Laplacian Transparent Composite Model and An Innovative Lossless Compression Method for Discrete-Color Images,” 2016 3rd MEC International Conference on Big Data and Smart City (ICBDSC), Muscat, Oman, pp. 155-160, 2016.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[2] K. Vijayalakshmi et al., Secure and Private Federated Learning through Encrypted Parameter Aggregation, Handbook on Federated Learning, 1st ed., CRC Press, pp. 1-26, 2023.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[3] O. Bajsa et al., “Vermiculture as a Tool for Domestic Wastewater Management,” Water Science and Technology, vol. 48, no. 11-12, pp. 125-132, 2004.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[4] A. Shahedi et al., “A Review on Industrial Wastewater Treatment via Electrocoagulation Processes,” Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, vol. 22, pp. 154-169, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[5] Mitra Bahri et al., “Integrated Oxidation Process and Biological Treatment for Highly Concentrated Petrochemical Effluents: A Review,” Chemical Engineering and Processing – Process Intensification, vol. 125, pp. 183-196, 2018.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[6] Perla A. Gonzalez-Tineo et al., “Performance Improvement of an Integrated Anaerobic-Aerobic Hybrid Reactor for the Treatment of Swine Wastewater,” Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 34, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[7] S. Feroz, Nitin Bhaurao Raut, and Reham Al Maimani, “Utilization of Solar Energy in Degrading Organic Pollutant—A Case Study,” International Journal of Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 33-37, 2011.
[Google Scholar] 
[8] Al Jabri, and S. Feroz, “The Effect of Combining TiO2 and ZnO in the Pretreatment of Seawater Reverse Osmosis Process,” International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 348-351, 2015.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[9] Dheeaa al Deen Atallah Aljuboury, and Feroz Shaik, “Optimization of the Petroleum Wastewater Treatment Process using TiO₂/Zn Photocatalyst,” South African Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 38, pp. 61-69, 2021.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[10] T.H.F. Wong, and R.R. Brown, “The Water Sensitive City: Principles for Practice,” Water Science and Technology, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 673-682, 2009.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[11] Fatemeh Mirza Esmaeili et al., “Algal Blooms Historical Outbreaks in the Northern Coastal Waters of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (1980–2015),” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 193, 2021.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[12] Mehdi Ghayebzadeh et al., “Estimation of Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the Caspian Sea: A Significant Unseen Marine Pollution,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 151, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[13] Jagannathan Jayachandran et al., “Machine Learning-Enhanced MXene–Copper–Graphene THz Sensor for Accurate Salinity Sensing in Environmental Applications,” Plasmonics, vol. 20, pp. 11349-11359, 2025.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[14] Maria Vittoria Barbieri et al., “Contaminants in Fish and Seafood from the Marine Environment: A Global Overview of Current Status and Future Perspective,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, vol. 219, pp. 1-24, 2025.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[15] Ojo Samuel et al., “Treatment of Oily Wastewater using Photocatalytic Membrane Reactors: A Critical Review,” Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 10, no. 6, 2022.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[16] Inès Friha et al., “Treatment of Textile Wastewater by Submerged Membrane Bioreactor: Vitro Bioassays for the Assessment of Stress Response Elicited by Raw and Reclaimed Wastewater,” Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 160, pp. 184-192, 2015.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[17] Samsul Bakri, and Prayudhy Yushananta, “Water Pollution and Water Quality Assessment of the Way Kuripan River in Bandar Lampung City (Sumatera, Indonesia),” Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 1061-1070, 2023.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[18] B.S. Choudri, Mahad Baawain, and Mushtaque Ahmed, “Review of Water Quality and Pollution in Coastal Areas of Oman,” Pollution Research, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 229-239, 2015.
[Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[19] A. Metcalf, and Eddy, Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Resource Recovery, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.
[Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[20] Adriana Maria Lotito et al., “Sequencing Batch Biofilter Granular Reactor for Textile Wastewater Treatment,” New Biotechnology, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 9-16, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[21] Veeriah Jegatheesan et al., “Treatment of Textile Wastewater with Membrane Bioreactor: A Critical Review,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 204, pp. 202-212, 2016.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[22] Imen Khouni, Ghofrane Louhichi, and Ahmed Ghrabi, “Assessing the Performances of an Aerobic Membrane Bioreactor for Textile Wastewater Treatment: Influence of Dye Mass Loading Rate and Biomass Concentration,” Process Safety and Environmental Protection, vol. 135, pp. 364-382, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[23] Norhayati Abdullah, Zaini Ujang, and Adibah Yahya, “Aerobic Granular Sludge Formation for High Strength Agro-Based Wastewater Treatment,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 102, no. 12, pp. 6778-6781, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[24] Kuan-Yeow Show et al., “Laboratory Trial and Full-Scale Implementation of Integrated Anaerobic-Aerobic Treatment for High Strength Acrylic Acid Wastewater,” Science of the Total Environment, vol. 738, 2020.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[25] F. Morgan-Sagastume et al., “Anaerobic Treatment of Oil-Contaminated Wastewater with Methane Production using Anaerobic Moving Bed Biofilm Reactors,” Water Research, vol. 163, 2019.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[26] Amin Mojiri et al., “Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) for the Removal of Dyes from Water and Wastewater: Progress, Challenges, and Future Perspectives,” Processes, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 1-25, 2023.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[27] Rabia Shoukat, Sher Jamal Khan, and Yousuf Jamal, “Hybrid Anaerobic-Aerobic Biological Treatment for Real Textile Wastewater,” Journal of Water Process Engineering, vol. 29, pp. 1-8, 2019.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[28] G. Mustafa et al., 11 - Bacterial Tools for the Removal and Degradation of Synthetic Dyes from the Wastewater, Current Developments in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, pp. 339-370, 2023.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[29] Weihua Cao, and Mehrab Mehrvar, “Slaughterhouse Wastewater Treatment by Combined Anaerobic Baffled Reactor and UV/H2O2 Processes,” Chemical Engineering Research and Design, vol. 89, no. 7, pp. 1136-1143, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[30] Mang Lu, Li-Peng Gu, and Wen-Hao Xu, “Treatment of Petroleum Refinery Wastewater using a Sequential Anaerobic–Aerobic Moving-bed Biofilm Reactor System based on Suspended Ceramsite,” Water Science and Technology, vol. 67, no. 9, pp. 1976-1983, 2013.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[31] S.R.M. Kutty et al., “Biological Treatability Study For Refinery Wastewater Using Bench Scale Sequencing Batch Reactor Systems,” WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, vol. 145, pp. 691-699, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[32] Vincenzo Naddeo et al., “Degradation of Diclofenac during Sonolysis, Ozonation and Their Simultaneous Application,” Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 790-794, 2009.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[33] R. Bauer et al., “The Photo-Fenton Reaction and the TiO2/UV Process for Waste Water Treatment − Novel Developments,” Catalysis Today, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 131-144, 1999.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[34] Omid Pourehie, and Javad Saien, “Treatment of Real Petroleum Refinery Wastewater with Alternative Ferrous-Assisted UV/Persulfate Homogeneous Processes,” Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 142, pp. 140-147, 2019.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[35] M.S. Baawain et al., “Investigating Municipal Wastewater Treatment In The Sultanate Of Oman,” WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, vol. 145, pp. 711-719, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[36] Mahad S. Baawain, Abdulrahim Al-Omairi, and B. S. Choudri, “Characterization of Domestic Wastewater Treatment in Oman from Three Different Regions and Current Implications of Treated Effluents,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 186, pp. 2701-2716, 2014.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[37] A.O Bazzi, “Heavy Metals in Seawater, Sediments, and Marine Organisms in the Gulf of Chabahar, Oman Sea,” Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 20-29, 2014.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[38] Wladyslaw Rudzinski, and Wojciech Plazinski, “Theoretical Description of the Kinetics of Solute Adsorption at Heterogeneous Solid/Solution Interfaces: On the Possibility of Distinguishing between the Diffusional and the Surface Reaction Kinetics Models,” Applied Surface Science, vol. 253, no. 13, pp. 5827-5840, 2007.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[39] Wladyslaw Rudzinski, and Wojciech Plazinski, “Studies of the Kinetics of Solute Adsorption at Solid/Solution Interfaces: On the Possibility of Distinguishing between the Diffusional and the Surface Reaction Kinetic Models by Studying the Pseudo-First-order Kinetics,” The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, vol. 111, no. 41, pp. 15100-15110, 2007.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[40] F. Cecchi et al., “First Order and Step-Diffusional Kinetic Models in Simulating the Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion of Complex Substrates,” Bioresource Technology, vol. 36, no. 3, pp. 261-269, 1991.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[41] S. Chandraseagar et al., “Aspen Plus Simulation and Optimization of Industrial Spent Caustic Wastewater Treatment by Wet Oxidation Method,” IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering: 1st ProSES Symposium Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia, vol. 702, pp. 1-7, 2019.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[42] Edward Tager et al., “Aspen Plus designing and Optimizing the Hospital Wastewater Treatment by Wet Air Oxidation Method, E3S Web of Conferences, vol. 436, pp. 1-5, 2023.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[43] Thafseela Koya, Saravanan Chandran, and K. Vijayalakshmi, “Analysis of Application of Arithmetic Coding on Dct and Dct-Dwt Hybrid Transforms of Images for Compression,” 2017 International Conference on Networks and Advances in Computational Technologies (NetACT), Thiruvananthapuram, India, pp. 288-293, 2017.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[44] K. Vijayalakshmi, “Reliability Improvement in Component-based Software Development Environment,” International Journal of Information Systems and Change Management, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 99-123, 2011.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[45] Shaima Al-Maskari, and K. Vijayalakshmi, “Detection of Non-Technical Losses in Power Utilities Using Machine Learning, 4th EAI International Conference on Big Data Innovation for Sustainable Cognitive Computing, pp. 45-65, 2022.
[CrossRef] [Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]
[46] Mohsina Kamarudeen, and K. Vijayalakshmi, “Maching Learning Based Financial Management Mobile Application to Enhance College Students' Financial Literacy,” International Society for Technology, Education, and Science, pp. 1237-1253, 2023.
[Google Scholar] [Publisher Link]