Treatment of Wastewater Containing Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO)

The increasing use of aprotic solvents in the industry leads to the set up of new wastewater treatment technologies adapted to the specificity of these compounds. The case of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is particularly interesting due to the specific properties of this component. Depending on concentration and the presence of other compounds in the effluent, several technologies can be chosen: concentration with reverse osmosis, biodegradation with specific process to avoid dimethyl sulfide (DMS) odours, oxidation in dimethyl sulfone (DMSO2) by various oxidants. The choice has to be made according to economical and technical considerations. In this paper, different options are detailed with advantages and drawbacks.