Translation Series No. 582
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ARCHIVES FISHERIES RESEARCH BOARD OF CANADA . Translation Series No. 582 WATER POLLUTION DUE TO WASTE FROM SULPHATE PULP FACTORIES By Hilding Bergstrbm and Sten Vallin Original title: Vattenfbrorening genom avloppsvattnet fran sulfatcellulosafabriker. From: Meddelanden frgn Statenp undersUnings- och F5reksansta1t f5r.etvattensfisket, No-. 13, 1 19 pp., 1937. Kungl. LantbruksstYrelsen. (Mitteilungen der Anstalt fnr, Binnenfischerei , bel Drottningholm, Stockholm.). , Translated by Lari_Ohman Bureau for Translations, Foreign Language Division, .Department of theSecretary of State of Canada Distributed'by: Fisheries Research Board of Canada Biological Station, St. Andrews, N.B. 1965 Swedish State Agricultural Board Report from the State Institute for the Investigation of Fresh Water Fishery. No. 13. Water contamination due-to the waste water from sulphate pulp factories. By Hilding Bergstrbm and Sten Vallin. With 10 tables. Page 3 HarmÈul effects due to the waste water from a sulphate factory in a water course has been subject to previous investigations by among others Ebeling, Klingstedt and Vallin, in particular with regard to fishery. The oxygen content of the water, the relative per- centage of dissolved organic substance détermined by permanganate consumption, reaction or pH-value and sulphide reaction usually do not give any appreciable indications of the contamination of the water, apart from a limited area immediately downstream of the factory drainage. In spite of this it has in certain cases been found, sometimes at a rather long distance from the factory, a noticeable poisonous effect on existing fish, in more severe cases resulting in fish death and a more or less pronounced deterioration of the taste of the fish due to stestances contained in the waste water from the factory, which effect could have been prevailing even if the fish otherwise seemed unaffected. At the mentioned investi- gations it has been shown also by comparative experiments with pure substances, that among those in the waste water existing organic compounds the resin acids are a highly effective poison for fishes. Primarily, the effect on the water course has been investigated and in certain cases the poisonous effect of the total waste water. However, in order to establish what actions should be taken for the operation of a sulphate factory in order to reduce as much as possible the damaging effect of the waste water, it is necessary to investigate the effect of different kinds of fluid in the waste water, which are generated during the manufacturing process,-- different groups of condensate, diffusion water, rinse water, "slime" water, etc. It is of course also necessary to take into account the quantitieis of the different kinds of the waste fluids in order to get a correct picture of the rele they play in the total waste water. The present investigation has been performed in accordance with the mentioned viewpoints. Chemical investigations, the determination of the amount of various waste products,etc., has been made by the Carbonization Laboratory (Kolningslaboratoriet) in Stockholm, the investigations of the Poisonous effects of the various waste fluids by the State Institute for the Investigation of Fresh Water Fishery, Drottningholm. • - At the investigation of poisonous effects the Institute's filtered P. Mâlarwater has been used as diluting water. It has a_ pH value of about 7.3 and an alkalinity corresponding to about 1.00 cubiccenti- meter 1-normal HC1 per liter. In all series of experiments where the pH-value in the various samples have exceeded 8, it has been regulated with hydrochloric acid to some value between 7.0 and 8.0, usually between 7.2 and 7.6. In order that the fish will be affected by the acidity or alkality only, a pH value below 5.0 or above • about 9.0 is required. Oneliter samples have been used at the experiments and therefore only relatively small test fishes, 5 to 6 cm long, could be considered --Spa11 roaches, summerlings of salmon and in some cases perch. The fish have, before,the experiments, been kept in the Institutes' aquariums with through flowing water. Moderate airing has been done during the experiments with alkaline fluids, diffusions water etc., where otherwise com- paratively rapid oxygen reduction could occur. On the other hand has airing not been done at most experiments with condensate products, etc. The test time has been about 5 days or somewhat more. The solutions have been renewed once a day during the experiments in order to prevent a marked reduction of the poisonous effects, in particular when concerning the samples with airing. The following number code has been used in the records to indicate the condition of the fishes during the course of the experiments. Code 0 = No effect 1 = Swlmming around somewhat restlessly 2 = Swimming aroUnd restlessly. Breathing accelerated. 3 . Swimming at intervals, in between the body stiff. 4 = Spasmodic trembling. 5 = Noticeable balance disturbances during swimming. 6 = At times resting in side - or recumbent position. = Swims (rushes) against the surface and falls back in side - or recumbent position 8 = Stays more constant at rest in side - or recumbent position at the surface or the bottom. The respiratory motions still noticeable. = Stays constahtly at rest in side - or recumbent position. Long intervals between the respiratory motions. Dead. 0 = No effect. 1 = MinUte effect. - -7-11(5tie#ab1e -'efrect. T 7 =:Strong -effect. 8 9 =1,rer'y strong effect. Page.5 Such a nuMprical scale for the gradation of the poisonous effects Makes it easier to keep record of the experiments, make the record more perspicuous and can also be used for graphically representing the course of the poisonous' effects. -3 In order to obtain a better perspicuity of the quantitative importance of the various waste fluids with regard to water impurities the concept of poison unit has been introduced. Thus a fluid contains e.g. 500 poison units per liter if it requires a dilution of at least 500 times of fresh water in order that a salmon-fry can survive in the diluted solution for 5 days. This definition of the concept poison unit is of course to some extent related to the special conditions of that water course at which the factory concerning this investigation is situated. The most important kind of fish in this water course is salmon. In particular the 2- to 3-year old salmon-fries, from the point of view fishing, are the most important resources. At this investigation as well as at previous investi- gations it has been found that the salmon-fries are much more sensitive than other fishes used, roach and perch, to the waste water from a sulphate factory. The determinatiOn of the number of poison units of the various waste fluids has to some extent been estimated approximately. If it was found during the experiments that the salmon-fry in a dilution of 1:20 died already after 2 to 3 days, but in a dilution of 1:40 was hardly or not at all affected after a minimum of 5 days, the number of poison units was estimated to 30 per liter. In some cases, even at the most diluted solution, the salmon-fry has died with'in a shorter time than 5 days. In such cases the number of poison units has been estimated somewhat higher than the mentioned most diluted solution. The following fluids from a sulphate pulp factory are those which essentially can be assumed to have a polluting effect on the water courses and damage the fishing in these. 10 Çondensate . of steam from the pulp boilers = boiler condensate, 2. Condensate of steam from the diffusion containers = 'diffusion condensate.„ 3. Condensate of steam from the evaporation of the sulphate air = air condensate. 4. Fluid that follows the pulp from the diffusion containers = diffusion water. 5. Water that follows the slime = slime water. The amount of these fluids and their compositions can vary for different factories. At the factory related to the present investi- gation the raw turpentine oil was separated from the condensate and is thus not included in these. The lye has been evaporated 10° to about 289 B. The condensate has been let out from the conden- sers at about 30°. The soap separated from the lye has been treated on liquid resin. The diffusion containers have usually been rinsed. As an example it can be mentioned that the following quantities of the above-mentioned waste fluids resulted from 1 ton of pulp manu- factured: 350 1 . Boiler condensate 000.0090000 OOOOOOO 90000000 liter 2. Diffusion condensate 0000000 OOOOO 00090000000 600 liter 3. Air condensate .••a00000•e•oo•osee•seo••ou 5000 liter 4. Diffusion water .••...•......•.............. 32000 liter .2 • Slime water 00000000000 OOOOO o OOOOOOOOOOOOO 00 1400 liter In addition comes about 5 times as much volume of water, mainly rinse water for the pulp. The total amount àf waste water per.ton pulp was therefore in this case 240.000 liter. The results of the experiments concerning the poisonous effects of the various waste-fluids are presented in Tables 1-VIII after the text. They are summarized in the table below. Thus for the pro- cessing of 1 ton pulp per hour a waterflow of at least 9.700.00 liter per hour (the waste water from the f1uid included), assuming that all these waste fluids were disposed off without 'pretreatment and that their poisonous effects remained unchanged, • is required in order that a salmon-fry could survive at least 5 days in the mixture of river water + wuste water from the factory concerned. Thus a minimum water flow of 2.4 m per second is required for the processing of 1 ton pulp per hour under the above-mentioned conditions. Table 1 Poison units Per ton pulp Waste fluids per liter liter poison units .