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Enhancing the removal of pollutants from coke wastewater by bioaugmentation: A scoping study
Author(s) -
Raper Eleanor,
Stephenson Tom,
Simões Francisco,
Fisher Raymond,
Anderson David R,
Soares Ana
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.5607
Subject(s) - bioaugmentation , fluoranthene , biostimulation , environmental chemistry , chemistry , wastewater , activated sludge , sewage treatment , environmental engineering , environmental science , waste management , bioremediation , contamination , phenanthrene , ecology , biology , engineering
BACKGROUND Bioaugmentation and biostimulation were investigated for their ability to improve the removal of thiocyanate (SCN – ), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenol and trace metals in coke wastewater. Additionally, the ability of the microorganisms supplemented with the bioaugmentation product to survive in a simulated river water discharge was evaluated. RESULTS A commercially available bioaugmentation product composed mainly of Bacillus sp. was mixed with activated sludge biomass. A dose of 0.5 g L –1 increased the removal of Σ6PAHs (sum of fluoranthene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, indeno[1,2,3‐cd]pyrene and benzo[g,h,i]perylene) by 51% and reduced SCN – below 4 mg L –1 enabling compliance with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (IED). Biostimulation (supplementing micronutrients and alkalinity) allowed compliance for both SCN – and phenol (<0.5 mg L –1 ). Bacillus sp. accounted for 4.4% of the microbial population after 25 h (1.5 g L –1 dose) which declined to 0.06% after exposure to river water (24 h). Exposure of the activated sludge biomass to river water resulted in a 98.6% decline in viable cell counts. CONCLUSION In order to comply with the IED, bioaugmentation and biostimulation are recommended for the treatment of coke wastewater to enable an effluent Σ6PAHs of 6.6 µg L –1 , 0.3 mg L –1 phenol and 1.2 mg L –1 SCN – . Such techniques are not anticipated to impact on downstream river water quality. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry