Removing phenols from waste water

A process for removing phenols as well as the volatile compounds NH.sub.3, CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 S from waste water resulting from gasification or degasification of coal by means of liquid/liquid countercurrent extraction of the phenols with isopropylether thereby achieving a phenol laden solvent layer and a dephenolized aqueous layer, by an organic solvent, followed by two consecutive distillation steps for separate recovery of acid gases CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 S, solvent and ammonia with a low acid gas content, comprising:

• (a) Extracting the waste water in countercurrent with a low-boiling organic solvent, thereby achieving a phenol laden solvent layer and a dephenolized aqueous layer, and separating the layers;
• (b) stripping off from the aqueous layer under superatmospheric pressure as vapors CO.sub.2, H.sub.2 S, small amounts of NH.sub.3 and the organic solvent contained therein;
• (c) condensing the vapors of step (b) by washing them under pressure with from 5 to 20% by weight of the cold dephenolized aqueous layer from step (a) thereby to remove the NH.sub.3 as well as most of the organic solvent, thus achieving an aqueous/organic mixture with an organic solvent content exceeding the physical solubility of the organic solvent in water, settling the excess solvent by gravity as an organic layer which is drawn off from the aqueous layer which is returned to step (b);
• (d) scrubbing the acidic vapors from step (c) with cold circulating phenol from step (f) to recover the last traces of solvent and NH.sub.3 to receive a CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 S acid gas freed of solvent and NH.sub.3 ;
• (e) stripping the bottom product of step (b) with live steam under atmospheric pressure, thereby achieving as overhead vapors a concentrated NH.sub.3 -vapor with only small amounts of CO.sub.2 and H.sub.2 S, which can be either burned or condensed, and as a bottom product a treated waste water suitable for biological treatment;
• (f) distilling the solvent layer from step (a) in a distillation column thereby achieving as overhead product a pure solvent which is condensed and recycled to step (a) and as bottom product a phenol which is partly used for scrubbing of the acidic vapors in step (d) and partly discharged as crude phenol.