Premium
Effect of olive mill wastewaters on the oxygen consumption by activated sludge microorganisms: an acute toxicity test method
Author(s) -
Paixão S. M.,
Anselmo A. M.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of applied toxicology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.784
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1099-1263
pISSN - 0260-437X
DOI - 10.1002/jat.846
Subject(s) - effluent , bioassay , activated sludge , pulp and paper industry , acute toxicity , toxicity , microorganism , paper mill , chemical oxygen demand , wastewater , chemistry , biochemical oxygen demand , oxygen , waste disposal , environmental chemistry , waste management , environmental science , biology , environmental engineering , bacteria , ecology , genetics , organic chemistry , engineering
The test for inhibition of oxygen consumption by activated sludge (ISO 8192‐1986 (E)) was evaluated as a tool for assessing, the acute toxicity of olive mill wastewaters (OMW). According to the ISO test, information generated by this method may be helpful in estimating the effect of a test material on bacterial communities in the aquatic environment, especially in aerobic biological treatment systems. However, the lack of standardized bioassay methodology for effluents imposed that the test conditions were modified and adapted. The experiments were conducted in the presence or absence of an easily biodegradable carbon source (glucose) with different contact times (20 min and 24 h). The results obtained showed a remarkable stimulatory effect of this effluent to the activated sludge microorganisms. In fact, the oxygen uptake rate values increase with increasing effluent concentrations and contact times up to 0.98 μl O 2 h −1 mg −1 dry weight for a 100% OMW sample, 24 h contact time, with blanks exhibiting an oxygen uptake rate of ca. 1/10 of this value (0.07–0.10). It seems that the application of the ISO test as an acute toxicity test for effluents should be reconsidered, with convenient adaptation for its utilization as a method of estimating the effect on bacterial communities present in aerobic biological treatment systems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.