Biodegradation and absorption technology for hydrocarbon-polluted water treatment

Wastewaters polluted with hydrocarbons are an environmental problem that has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem and on human health. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop a bioreactor sorbent technology for treating these polluted waters. A lab-scale plant composed of three 1-L bi...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rodríguez-Calvo, A., Silva-Castro, Gloria Andrea, Olicón-Hernández, D.R., González-López, J., Calvo, Carlos
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/216030
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/216030
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Biodegradation
Water treatment
Sorbent carriers
Pilot plant
Hydrocarbons
Descripción
Sumario:Wastewaters polluted with hydrocarbons are an environmental problem that has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem and on human health. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop a bioreactor sorbent technology for treating these polluted waters. A lab-scale plant composed of three 1-L bioreactors with different sorbent materials inside (meltblown polypropylene and granulated cork) was built. Wastewater to be treated was recirculated through each bioreactor for 7 days. Results showed that hydrocarbon retention rates in the three bioreactors ranged between 92.6% and 94.5% of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and that after one simple recirculation cycle, no hydrocarbon fractions were detected by gas chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in the effluent wastewater. In addition, after the wastewater treatment, the sorbent materials were extracted from the bioreactors and deposited in vessels to study the biodegradation of the retained hydrocarbons by the wastewater indigenous microbiota adhered to sorbents during the wastewater treatment. A TPH removal of 41.2% was detected after one month of Pad Sentec carrier treatment. Further, the shifts detected in the percentages of some hydrocarbon fractions suggested that biodegradation is at least partially involved in the hydrocarbon removal process. These results proved the efficiency of this technology for the treatment of these hydrocarbon-polluted-waters.