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Case Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Project for Citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) Extract Production

Received: 10 November 2025     Accepted: 24 November 2025     Published: 17 December 2025
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Abstract

The extract of citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) plays a significant role in medical and pharmaceutical applications due to its rich content of hesperidin, methyl hesperidin, and other compounds. However, wastewater generated from citrus extraction contains substances such as pectin, which readily encapsulate biochemical strains and inhibit their activity. This severely impairs the function of biochemical degradation processes, posing significant challenges in wastewater treatment. This project employs a “dissolved air flotation + iron-carbon fluidized bed” pretreatment process to remove pectin and enhance wastewater biodegradability, followed by a combined “upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) + anoxic-oxic (A/O)” biochemical unit to eliminate organic pollutants. Operational results indicated that the influent water quality for the project ranged from pH 4.5 to 6.5, with chemical oxygen demand (CODcr) ≤ 9800 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen ≤ 40 mg/L, suspended solids (SS) ≤ 2000 mg/L. The pretreatment process achieved a pectin removal rate exceeding 87%, significantly enhanced biodegradability, and stabilized the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)/CODcr ratio at approximately 0.4. The final effluent quality achieved a pH range of 6 to 9, CODcr ≤ 500 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen ≤ 25 mg/L, SS ≤ 400 mg/L, consistently meeting the discharge standards specified in the “Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard” (GB 8978-1996) for pipe discharge. This combined process offers stable and reliable effluent quality with simple and efficient management. It holds significant reference value and promising application prospects for wastewater treatment in industries such as plant extraction and fruit processing.

Published in American Journal of Water Science and Engineering (Volume 11, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13
Page(s) 130-137
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Biodegradation, Dissolved Air Flotation, Iron-carbon Reaction, Plant Extract

References
[1] Qu Z Y, Feng X M, Zou X, et al. Research progress in aurantii fructus immaturus [J]. Food and Drug, 2017, 19(06): 455-459.
[2] Suntar I, Khan H, Patel S, et al. An overview on citrus aurantium L.: Its functions as food ingredient and therapeutic agent [J]. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2018, 2018(1): 7864269.
[3] Zhang H, Chen J L, Li J H, et al. Pectin from citrus canning wastewater as potential fat replacer in ice cream [J]. Molecules, 2018, 23(4): 925-925.
[4] Zema A D, Calabro S P, Folino A, et al. Wastewater management in citrus processing industries: an overview of advantages and limits [J]. Water, 2019, 11(12): 2481.
[5] Chitunhu B, Kwiri R, Muredzi P. Redesigning waste water treatment process in view of utilising the water: A case study at a citrus juice processing company in Zimbabwe [J]. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 2014, 3(6): 15-21.
[6] Xiang T, Yang R, Li L, et al. Research progress and application of pectin: A review [J]. Journal of Food Science, 2024, 89(11): 6985-7007.
[7] Guzmán J, Mosteo R, Sarasa J, et al. Evaluation of solar photo-fenton and ozone based processes as citrus wastewater pre-treatments [J]. Separation and Purification Technology, 2016, 164: 155-162.
[8] Corsino S F, Di Trapani D, Torregrossa M, et al. Aerobic granular sludge treating high strength citrus wastewater: analysis of ph and organic loading rate effect on kinetics, performance and stability [J]. Journal of Environmental Management, 2018, 214: 23-35.
[9] Li X, Yang C P, Guo J Y, et al. Treatment of pectin wastewater using phanerochaete chrysosporium [J]. Chinese Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2014, 8(06): 2271-2276.
[10] Yüksel E, Kort R, Voragen A G J. Structure and degradation dynamics of dietary pectin [J]. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 2025, 65(29): 6249-6268.
[11] Chen Y, Gao Y J, Liu T T, et al. Activated persulfate by iron-carbon micro electrolysis used for refractory organics degradation in wastewater: a review [J]. Water Science & Technology, 2022, 86(4): 690-713.
[12] Malakootian M, Kannan K, Gharaghani M A, et al. Removal of metronidazole from wastewater by fe/charcoal micro electrolysis fluidized bed reactor [J]. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2019, 7(6): 103457.
[13] Li H, Di J, Dong Y, et al. Enhanced reduction of sulfate by iron-carbon microelectrolysis: interaction mechanism between microelectrolysis and microorganisms [J]. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2024, 31(21): 31577-31589.
[14] Cheng Q, Chen Y, Zhao W, et al. Anammox enhanced anoxic/oxic/oxic/anoxic process for removing carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus from extremely low carbon/nitrogen ratio wastewater: Feasibility, performance and mechanism [J]. Bioresource Technology, 2025:
[15] Qi Y P, Zhang G Q, Lu H M. Treatment of livestock wastewater by coagulation sedimentation + ammonia nitrogen stripping + hydrolysis acidification + A/O process [J]. Contemporary Chemical Industry, 2019, 48(03): 594-596+601.
[16] Zhang X Z, Deng Z X, Zhang T, et al. Study on the treatment of N, N -dimethylformamide-containing wastewaterby up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor [J]. Energy Environmental Protection, 2024, 38(01): 159-166.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Fan, X., Zheng, Z., Chen, Y., Xing, C., Yue, Y., et al. (2025). Case Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Project for Citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) Extract Production. American Journal of Water Science and Engineering, 11(4), 130-137. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13

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    ACS Style

    Fan, X.; Zheng, Z.; Chen, Y.; Xing, C.; Yue, Y., et al. Case Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Project for Citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) Extract Production. Am. J. Water Sci. Eng. 2025, 11(4), 130-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13

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    AMA Style

    Fan X, Zheng Z, Chen Y, Xing C, Yue Y, et al. Case Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Project for Citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) Extract Production. Am J Water Sci Eng. 2025;11(4):130-137. doi: 10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13,
      author = {Xiaoling Fan and Zhiyong Zheng and Yuxin Chen and Chaoyang Xing and Yaonan Yue and Xiaomeng Han and Can Li and Hansong Chen and Shaocheng Zheng},
      title = {Case Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Project for Citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) Extract Production},
      journal = {American Journal of Water Science and Engineering},
      volume = {11},
      number = {4},
      pages = {130-137},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajwse.20251104.13},
      abstract = {The extract of citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) plays a significant role in medical and pharmaceutical applications due to its rich content of hesperidin, methyl hesperidin, and other compounds. However, wastewater generated from citrus extraction contains substances such as pectin, which readily encapsulate biochemical strains and inhibit their activity. This severely impairs the function of biochemical degradation processes, posing significant challenges in wastewater treatment. This project employs a “dissolved air flotation + iron-carbon fluidized bed” pretreatment process to remove pectin and enhance wastewater biodegradability, followed by a combined “upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) + anoxic-oxic (A/O)” biochemical unit to eliminate organic pollutants. Operational results indicated that the influent water quality for the project ranged from pH 4.5 to 6.5, with chemical oxygen demand (CODcr) ≤ 9800 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen ≤ 40 mg/L, suspended solids (SS) ≤ 2000 mg/L. The pretreatment process achieved a pectin removal rate exceeding 87%, significantly enhanced biodegradability, and stabilized the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)/CODcr ratio at approximately 0.4. The final effluent quality achieved a pH range of 6 to 9, CODcr ≤ 500 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen ≤ 25 mg/L, SS ≤ 400 mg/L, consistently meeting the discharge standards specified in the “Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard” (GB 8978-1996) for pipe discharge. This combined process offers stable and reliable effluent quality with simple and efficient management. It holds significant reference value and promising application prospects for wastewater treatment in industries such as plant extraction and fruit processing.},
     year = {2025}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Case Analysis of Wastewater Treatment Project for Citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) Extract Production
    AU  - Xiaoling Fan
    AU  - Zhiyong Zheng
    AU  - Yuxin Chen
    AU  - Chaoyang Xing
    AU  - Yaonan Yue
    AU  - Xiaomeng Han
    AU  - Can Li
    AU  - Hansong Chen
    AU  - Shaocheng Zheng
    Y1  - 2025/12/17
    PY  - 2025
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13
    T2  - American Journal of Water Science and Engineering
    JF  - American Journal of Water Science and Engineering
    JO  - American Journal of Water Science and Engineering
    SP  - 130
    EP  - 137
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1875
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajwse.20251104.13
    AB  - The extract of citrus (Citrus aurantium L.) plays a significant role in medical and pharmaceutical applications due to its rich content of hesperidin, methyl hesperidin, and other compounds. However, wastewater generated from citrus extraction contains substances such as pectin, which readily encapsulate biochemical strains and inhibit their activity. This severely impairs the function of biochemical degradation processes, posing significant challenges in wastewater treatment. This project employs a “dissolved air flotation + iron-carbon fluidized bed” pretreatment process to remove pectin and enhance wastewater biodegradability, followed by a combined “upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) + anoxic-oxic (A/O)” biochemical unit to eliminate organic pollutants. Operational results indicated that the influent water quality for the project ranged from pH 4.5 to 6.5, with chemical oxygen demand (CODcr) ≤ 9800 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen ≤ 40 mg/L, suspended solids (SS) ≤ 2000 mg/L. The pretreatment process achieved a pectin removal rate exceeding 87%, significantly enhanced biodegradability, and stabilized the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)/CODcr ratio at approximately 0.4. The final effluent quality achieved a pH range of 6 to 9, CODcr ≤ 500 mg/L, ammonia nitrogen ≤ 25 mg/L, SS ≤ 400 mg/L, consistently meeting the discharge standards specified in the “Integrated Wastewater Discharge Standard” (GB 8978-1996) for pipe discharge. This combined process offers stable and reliable effluent quality with simple and efficient management. It holds significant reference value and promising application prospects for wastewater treatment in industries such as plant extraction and fruit processing.
    VL  - 11
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

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