Process for removing monohydric and polyhydric phenols from waste water

Claim 1

Process for removing monohydric and polyhydric phenols, hydrogen sulfide, free and combined ammonia by extraction and distillation from waste water formed during the degasification or gasification of coal and subsequently subjected to biological purification, which process comprises: (a) removing a major portion of the monohydric phenol, part of the polyhydric phenols and a portion of any of the free fatty acids present in the waste water by extraction with a small amount of a non-saponifying organic solvent having a boiling point below 100° C., thereby forming a first extract phase and a first refined phase; (b) separating the phenols from said first extract phase by distillation whereby said organic solvent is distilled off; (c) removing a major portion of the polyhydric phenols, the remainder of the monophenols and an additional amount of any free fatty acids which may be present by a single or repeated extraction with a larger amount of the same organic solvent employed in step (a) from said first refined phase obtained from step (a), thereby forming a second extraction phase and a second refined phase; (d) separating said second extraction phase from said second refined phase and transforming the phenols in said second extraction phase obtained from step (c) to their salts by treating with an aqueous alkaline solution and separating the so-treated mixture into an organic phase and an aqueous phase; (e) recycling the solvent-containing organic phase from step (d) to step (c); (f) recovering the free phenols from the aqueous phase from step (d) by contacting the same with an amount of CO 2 obtained by atmospheric or superatmospheric deacidification of said second refined phase with simultaneous stripping of the remaining solvent and H 2 S, thereby forming an alkali carbonate; (g) separating the free phenols from said alkali carbonate; (h) contacting said first refined phase with said alkali carbonate to liberate NH 3 ; and (i) jointly stripping off said liberated NH 3 with any NH 3 present.