Electron-beam treatment of wastewater from a papermill has been studied in combination with conventional methods (coagulation + flocculation and biological). It has been found that such combination (the required dose is about I kGy) allows one to decrease chemical oxygen demand and total organic carbon values of wastewater to the value below 25 ppm and, as a consequence, to increase the recirculation rate of wastewater from 20-30% up to 70-80%. The design of commercial plant equipped with three electron accelerators (total beam power 300 kW) for the purification of wastewater from a papermill in Cheongwon (Republic of Korea) has been developed. Its planned output is equal to 15,000 m(3)/day. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.