3 Based on these advantages, in this present research the UVH
2
O
2
technique is proposed to treat MDEA in water solution. MDEA is commonly chosen as the
scrubbing agent since this alkanolamine can be used for the absorption and stripping of hydrogen sulfide H
2
S and carbon dioxide CO
2
and also can be used to remove carbonyl sulfide COS [2]. Even though MDEA is widely used as the scrubbing
agent during sweetening process of acidic gas from natural gas, the study pertaining to the degradation of MDEA present in effluents are highly limited.
1.2 Problem Statement
High concentration of alkanolamine in wastewater will be generated during maintaining and cleaning as well as scheduled inspection of absorption and desorption
columns of natural gas sweetening plant. The wastewater produced is toxic to the environment and cannot be treated via the conventional wastewater treatment. One of
the alternative techniques in advanced oxidation processes AOP’s, Fenton’s
treatment, has been studied to degrade the alkanolamine wastewater. However, the limitation of Fenton’s treatment has inspired to look for an alternative technique
which displays better performance and advantages such as no sludge formation during the treatment, applicable for a wide range of pH, and high capability of a hydroxyl
radical HO
• production, which has been identified as an important species in the
AOP’s. UVH
2
O
2
is one of the methods in the AOP ’s, which is expected to meet the
required criteria, for better performance. In this context, the present research has been undertaken to experimentally
investigate the degradability of MDEA using UVH
2
O
2
. Simulated waste and real effluent from Petronas Penapisan Melaka Sdn. Bhd. PPMSB were used in this study.
Effects of different process parameters such as the initial concentration of the wastewater, the initial H
2
O
2
dosage, pH, intensity of UV light, and temperature will be studied, as well as the intermediate products will also be investigated.
Mathematical and statistical software will be used for the optimization of the process. In addition, for scale up and commercialization of the method, the kinetic constants of
reaction need to be established. Since the UVH
2
O
2
process for degradation of MDEA
4 is an electric-energy-intensive process and the electric energy can represent major
consumption cost, then the evaluation of electrical energy demand is also required. In order to evaluate the advantage of the hybrid strategy of the combined AOP
using UVH
2
O
2
and biological oxidation, a biodegradability test of the partially degraded wastewater as well as untreated wastewater will be investigated following
the standard procedure and using locally available activated sludge.
1.3 Objectives
