Use of an integrated biophysical process for the treatment of halo- and nitro- organic wastes

Liron Shoshani; Asher Brenner; Chaim Sheindorf; Liron Shoshani; Asher Brenner; Chaim Sheindorf

doi:10.3934/environsci.2017.4.523

AIMS Environmental Science

2017, Volume 4, Issue 4: 523-539. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2017.4.523

Previous Article Next Article

Research article Special Issues

Use of an integrated biophysical process for the treatment of halo- and nitro- organic wastes

1.
Environmental Protection Technologies Ltd., Kefar Netter, P.O. Box 3518, 40593 Israel
2.
Unit of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 8410501 Israel

Received: 24 February 2017 Accepted: 26 June 2017 Published: 07 July 2017

This study assessed the use of an integrated biophysical process incorporating the addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to a dual-sludge biological process, in order to improve the removal of problematic contaminants from complex herbicides production wastewater. The main focus was on the removal of nitrogen compounds, total organic carbon (TOC), and halogenated organics (AOX). The dual-sludge pilot setup comprised a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system followed by a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system. The dilution ratio of raw wastewater was gradually decreased (with groundwater) from 0.8 to 0 (no dilution), and PAC was added in the last phase of the study to maintain an equilibrium concentration of 2000 mg/L. PAC addition stimulated a high and steady removal (98%) of the ammoniacal nitrogen, conforming to the sea discharge limit of 5 mg/L. However, the effluent concentrations of total nitrogen, TOC, and AOX were still above the stringent discharge limits of 20, 100 and 0.5 mg/L respectively. Furthermore, it was shown that synergistic effect of various toxic organic compounds, rather than mineral salinity, was the major cause for the acute inhibitions of nitrification and AOX removal. The study showed that the proposed process can function as an efficient treatment system for the complex wastewater typically produced in the herbicide industry, however, it is recommended that complementary physico-chemical treatment steps be added to the treatment process.
- herbicides production wastes,
- biological wastewater treatment,
- dual-sludge system,
- powdered activated carbon,
- membrane bioreactor,
- nitrogen compounds,
- AOX
Citation: Liron Shoshani, Asher Brenner, Chaim Sheindorf. Use of an integrated biophysical process for the treatment of halo- and nitro- organic wastes[J]. AIMS Environmental Science, 2017, 4(4): 523-539. doi: 10.3934/environsci.2017.4.523

Related Papers:

Abstract

This study assessed the use of an integrated biophysical process incorporating the addition of powdered activated carbon (PAC) to a dual-sludge biological process, in order to improve the removal of problematic contaminants from complex herbicides production wastewater. The main focus was on the removal of nitrogen compounds, total organic carbon (TOC), and halogenated organics (AOX). The dual-sludge pilot setup comprised a conventional activated sludge (CAS) system followed by a membrane bioreactor (MBR) system. The dilution ratio of raw wastewater was gradually decreased (with groundwater) from 0.8 to 0 (no dilution), and PAC was added in the last phase of the study to maintain an equilibrium concentration of 2000 mg/L. PAC addition stimulated a high and steady removal (98%) of the ammoniacal nitrogen, conforming to the sea discharge limit of 5 mg/L. However, the effluent concentrations of total nitrogen, TOC, and AOX were still above the stringent discharge limits of 20, 100 and 0.5 mg/L respectively. Furthermore, it was shown that synergistic effect of various toxic organic compounds, rather than mineral salinity, was the major cause for the acute inhibitions of nitrification and AOX removal. The study showed that the proposed process can function as an efficient treatment system for the complex wastewater typically produced in the herbicide industry, however, it is recommended that complementary physico-chemical treatment steps be added to the treatment process.

References

[1]	Celis E, Elefsiniotis P, Singhal N (2008) Biodegradation of Agricultural Herbicides in Sequencing Batch Reactors under Aerobic or Anaerobic Conditions. Water Res 42: 3218-3224. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.04.008
[2]	Singh B, Singh K (2016) Microbial degradation of herbicides. Crit Rev Microbiol 42: 245-261.
[3]	Tchobanoglous G, Burton FL, Stensel HD (2002) Wastewater Engineering, Treatment and Reuse, 4^th ed. McGraw Hill Education, New York, New York, USA.
[4]	Sher MI, Arbuckle WB, Shen Z (2000) Oxygen Uptake Rate Inhibition with PACT™ Sludge. J Hazard Mater 73: 129-142.
[5]	Drews A, Kraume M (2005) Process Improvement by Application of Membrane Bioreactors. Chem Eng Res Des 83: 276-284. doi: 10.1205/cherd.04259
[6]	Munz G, Gori R, Mori G, et al. (2007) Powdered Activated Carbon and Membrane Bioreactors (MBRPAC) for Tannery Wastewater Treatment: Long Term Effect on Biological and Filtration Process Performances. Desalination 207: 349-360. doi: 10.1016/j.desal.2006.08.010
[7]	Pala A, Tokat E (2003) Activated Carbon Addition to an Activated Sludge Model Reactor for Color Removal from a Cotton Textile Processing Wastewater. J Environ Eng 129: 1064-1068. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2003)129:11(1064)
[8]	Cecen F, Aktas O (2001) Powdered Activated Carbon-Assisted Biotreatment of a Chemical Synthesis Wastewater. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 76: 1249-1259.
[9]	Ghattas AK, Fischer F, Wick A, et al. (2017) Anaerobic biodegradation of (emerging) organic contaminants in the aquatic environment. Water Res 116: 268-295. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.02.001
[10]	Volker J, Vogt T, Castronovo S, et al. (2017) Extended anaerobic conditions in the biological wastewater treatment: Higher reduction of toxicity compared to target organic micropollutants. Water Res 116: 220-230. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2017.03.030

Reader Comments

Your name:*

Email:*
© 2017 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)