Industries producing highly polluted waste waters are having to purify their effluents to meet with ever increasing requirements laid down by water authorities. The South African Water Act of 1956 has prescribed a very high standard to which waste waters must conform before discharge into a South African water course. Enforcement of these standards falls under the jurisdiction of government authorities such as the Department of Water Affairs. Similarly, municipalities and other local authorities set standards with which trade effluents must comply before discharge into public sewers for treatment in a municipal sewage works. These local authorities are empowered to recover from the trader the additional costs incurred in treating trade effluents. Costs are usually levied in respect of volume, oxygen demand, settleable solids and the production of secondary sludge. In recent years, these standards have been enforced to an extent where the survival of several industries has become dependant on whether these industries are able to purify or dispose of their effluents in a manner acceptable to the water authorities. Chap. 1, p. 1.

The anaerobic digestion of tannery wastewaters was investigated with a view to using this form of treatment in the tanning industry. As these wastewaters are extremely complex and contain high concentrations of both inorganic and organic compounds, the effect of these individual compounds on the anaerobic digestion process was investigated in detail, in order to ascertain the fate of these compounds during the digestion process. The experiments comprising the initial toxicity study were carried out as adaptation experiments using a synthetic wastewater. It was found that the heavy metals such as chrome, aluminium and iron precipitated and accumulated in the sludge bed of the digesters . The soluble ions such as sodium and chloride were not retained and passed through the digesters. Approximately 20 % of the calcium ions were removed through precipitation, with the remainder being present in the digester effluent . Under the anaerobic conditions, ammonification of the organic nitrogen occurred, and influent sulphates were reduced to sulphides . These sulphides were present as either H2S, HS or insoluble sulphides. As these compounds under investigation on caused no inhibition of the anaerobic digestion process at the concentrations found in tannery wastewaters, the anaerobic treatment of these wastewaters appeared to be possible, provided the bacteria were given sufficient time to adapt to the potentially toxic compounds. However, despite the findings of the synthetic study, the successful anaerobic digestion of the tannery effluents could not be achieved. Although the use of acid was found to be essential in order to control the digester pH in the optimum range, the metabolism of the methanogenic bacteria was inhibited by the presence or absence of unknown compounds. Neither the addition of essential trace nutrients, nor the prevention of the competition between the methanogens and the sulphate-reducing bacteria were able to reverse this inhibition. As tannery effluents contain very low concentrations of phosphorous, it is possible that the methanogens were inhibited by a lack of phosphorous, which is essential during methanogenesis. In contrast to the results obtained from the effluent experiments, the anaerobic digestion of tannery sludge was found to be possible. Of the organic solids present in the sludge, 60 % were degraded and converted into biogas, which had a methane content greater than 70 %. The degradation of the organic solids ensured that COD and PV reductions of greater than 90 % were achieved, and the fate of the compounds in the digesters were in agreement with the findings of the v synthetic study. Efforts to improve the efficiency of the digestion process through the addition of trace nutrients and the use of a two-stage process were only successful in bringing about a minor improvement in digester performance. The overall results of this investigation show, therefore, that although the anaerobic treatment of the tannery effluent was not achieved, the successful anaerobic digestion of tannery sludge is possible at low loading rates. As many difficulties still need to be solved, a great deal of further research is necessary if anaerobic digestion is to be used on an industrial scale for the treatment and disposal of tannery wastewaters.

Submitted by Biblioteca Central (biblioteca@unicap.br) on 2018-02-15T18:24:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 josiane_maria_santana_melo_lins.pdf: 1259298 bytes, checksum: 8d95f0beebff539982987b6fe3f33c38 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-02-15T18:24:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 josiane_maria_santana_melo_lins.pdf: 1259298 bytes, checksum: 8d95f0beebff539982987b6fe3f33c38 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-23 / Residual Frying Oil (RFO) is part of one of the waste generated daily in households, industries and voluntary delivery points (public and mixed-economy companies). The uncontrolled disposal of residues of frying oils, in sinks or dumped directly into bodies of water, entails a series of environmental damages, such as obstruction of pipes in sewage systems and increased costs of treatment processes, in addition to Increased pollution. The collection and reuse of these waste oils prevents them from being disposed of inappropriately and benefits the environment. The percentage recovery of residual oil from fried foods depends to a large extent on the washing operations. These operations are also responsible for the effective separation of the organic and aqueous phases from the emulsions generated so as to obtain a lower possible oil content in the aqueous phase, while the oil can still be used for reuse in the soap and detergent production processes. In this work, actions were taken to improve the operational conditions to improve the process of chemical washing of the ORF by cleaning products industries, in order to generate an adequate effluent for subsequent physical-chemical treatment by Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF). After conditioning, the OFR collection vessel was rinsed with steam and received addition of chemical reagents (HCLO3, NaOH and NaCl). The material was then treated through DAF, with a biosurfactant acting as a biodegradable manifold, in a laboratory scale prototype operating in continuous mode. The experiments were performed according to a Central Composite Designs (CCD) of type 22. As factors, the ratio between the effluent flow to be treated and the biosurfactant flow rate (X1) was used, and the ratio of the air flow to the effluent flow recirculated to produce the microbubbles (X2). As a response variable the water-oil separation efficiency was used. A maximum separation efficiency of 98.0% for X1 and X2 values equal to 1.0.103 and 1.05.104, respectively. / O Óleo de Fritura Residual (OFR) é parte de um dos resíduos gerados diariamente em residências, indústrias e pontos de entrega voluntários (empresas públicas e de economia mista). A eliminação descontrolada de resíduos de óleos de fritura, em sumidouros ou jogados diretamente em corpos d’água, acarreta uma série de danos ambientais, tais como a obstrução de tubos em sistemas de esgotos e o aumento dos custos dos processos de tratamento, além do aumento da poluição. O recolhimento e a reutilização desses óleos usados impede o seu descarte inadequado e traz benefícios para o ambiente. A percentagem de recuperação de óleo residual proveniente de alimentos fritos depende, em grande parte, das operações de lavagem. Estas operações são também responsáveis pela separação efetiva das fases orgânicas e aquosa das emulsões geradas, de forma a se obter um menor teor de óleo possível na fase aquosa, enquanto que o óleo possa ainda ser utilizada para reúso nos processos produtivos de sabões e detergentes. Neste trabalho, foram realizadas ações para melhorar as condições operacionais de aprimoramento do processo de lavagem química do ORF por indústrias de produtos de limpeza, a fim de gerar um efluente adequado para posterior tratamento físicoquímico por Flotação de Ar Dissolvido (FAD). Depois de acondicionado, o recipiente de coleta de OFR foi lavado com vapor e recebeu adição de reagentes químicos (HCLO3, NaOH e NaCl). O material foi então tratado através de FAD, com um biossurfactante atuando como um colector biodegradável, num protótipo de escala laboratorial operando em modo contínuo. Os experimentos foram realizados de acordo com um Delineamento Composto Central Rotacional (DCCR) do tipo 22. Como fatores utilizou-se a razão entre a vazão do efluente a ser tratado e a vazão de biossurfactante (X1), e a razão entre a vazão de ar e a vazão de efluente recirculada para produzir as microbolhas (X2). Como variável resposta utilizou-se a eficiência de separação água-óleo. Uma eficiência máxima de separação de 98,0 % para valores de X1 e X2 iguais a 1,0.103 e 1,05.104, respectivamente.

This research investigates interacting biological, chemical, and physical factors affecting the efficiency of microbiological wastewater treatment at the W. J. Smith Wood- Preserving Company in Denison, Texas. The treatment process consisted of collecting exhaust boiler water containing unidentified boiler treatment compounds, steam condensate contaminated with preservatives and wood extracts, plant process waters, and rainfall runoff from plant grounds. With a 5-minute residence time, wastewater was passed over 2 oxidation towers in series, each containing approximately 47,000 square feet of surface area. Suspended solids were removed from the wastewater before discharge. Various amino acids such as serine, aspartate, cysteine, phenylalanine, alanine, proline, glycine, histidine, and tyrosine significantly stimulated phenol degradation in the laboratory. The plant wastewater contained approximately 0.1 mg/l of several of the stimulatory amino acids. It was assumed that these concentrations provided maximal stimulation in the field situation. The plant wastewater also contained sufficient nitrogen to permit the organisms to degrade up to 100 mg phenol/1 of water examined. Amino acids in the wastewater probably serve as a source of microbial nutrition. Toxicity of the wastewater to fish was not caused by the presence of phenol, phenol degradation products, or traces of pentachlorophenol. The wastewater was rendered non-toxic by diluting with between 4 to 9 volumes of stream water. Toxicity could also be removed by chemical coagulation followed by activated carbon adsorption. As a result of biological treatment, the plant now discharges the treated wastewater into the municipal sewage treatment facility.

M. Tech. (Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Removal of wastewater pollutants is urgent as they are continuously defiling the limited freshwater resources, affecting the ecosystem, aquatic and terrestrial life. Carbon nanotubes-based adsorbent materials are effective for removal of wastewater pollutants owing to their large specific surface area. Surface modification of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can mediate specific pollutant adsorption and increase CNTs colloidal stability and chemical reactivity. Heavy metal pollution of wastewater is one of the major threats, as this metals can be toxic to humans when present at certain concentrations in drinking water. This study report the synthesis of chlorine functionalized and nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes (ClNCNTs) loaded with iron oxide nanoparticles and their use as adsorbents for Pb2+ ions in aqueous solutions. Carbon nanomaterials that are functionalized with chlorine and doped with nitrogen were successfully synthesized. This was done through pyrolysis of a mixture of dichlorobenzene and acetonitrile (in a 1:1 volume ratio) over 10% Fe-Co/CaCO3 bi-metallic catalyst via chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method. Addition of chlorine and nitrogen to the CNTs was to enable defect and disorder creation on the surface of the nanotubes which is envisaged to create nucleation sites on the their surface for better adhesion of the iron oxide nanoparticles. Different loadings of magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles on the surface of the ClNCNTs was achieved using a co-precipitation method. The synthesized materials were charaterized by Raman spectroscopy, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) spectroscopy, Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Brunauer Emmett and Teller (BET) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Highly defected CNTs, some with hollow and others with bamboo-compartments due to nitrogen inclusion were obtained. The effect of metal salt concentration in wt.% (10, 20, 30 and 53 wt.%) was investigated. The increase in wt.% loading has resulted in an increase in surface area, and a decrease in thermal stability as a result of defected Fe3O4/ClNCNTs. In addition, agglomeration was observed at 30 and 53 wt.% loading, due to large amount of iron present. The identity of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles was confirmed by PXRD and XPS with two iron peaks deconvoluted at 725.6 eV and 721 eV respectively. The percentage loading of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles at the surface of the ClNCNTs was affirmed by TGA analysis, where the residual mass obtained from TGA were closely related to the mass percentages added. Different nitrogen environments namely, the quatenary, pyridinic, pyrollic and nitrogen oxides were also observed, whilst chlorine could not be deconvoluted because it was present in very limited amount probably it was masked by the iron oxide nanoparticle. Thus, a 20 wt.% Fe3O4/ClNCNTs was chosen as an optimum, due to uniform distribution of spherical nanopaticles observed along the radial length of ClNCNTs that had an average size of 10 ± 4.5 nm. The synthesized ClNCNTs and a nanocomposite made from a 20 wt.% Fe3O4/ClNCNTs were applied in the removal of Pb2+ ions from aqueous solution. The results obtained showed that a nanocomposite made from a 20 wt.% Fe3O4/ClNCNTs had a better adsorption capacity of 17.0 mg/g as compared with 14.8 mg/g for ClNCNTs.

Current use of alcohols as neat automotive fuels or as inexpensive octane enhancers in gasoline-alcohol blends, in addition to their uses as solvents and starting materials in manufacturing, have created a concern due to the increased potential for groundwater contamination. Adsorption and water solubility are primarily responsible for separating gasoline-alcohol blend components in soils and would allow alcohols to move ahead of the remaining gasoline components (e.g., benzene). The presence of alcohols would be difficult to detect, and levels hazardous to humans or animals could be reached readily. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the use of a ¹⁴C-tracer technique for evaluation of subsurface biodegradation of groundwater contaminants. A modification of the heterotrophic activity assay, the radiorespirometric method, was employed as the ¹⁴C-tracer technique. The microorganisms used were those present in soil sampled aseptically at locations in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Both saturated and unsaturated zone soils were used. The alcohols used were methanol and tertiary-butanol. Methanol was easily degraded under both aerobic and anoxic conditions up to approximately 3000 mg/L. Tertiary-butanol was degraded very slowly under both aerobic and anoxic/anaerobic conditions, and an inhibitory concentration was not readily apparent. Tertiary-butanol was degraded at rates approximately 10² slower than methano1. The data generated in this study compare favorably with data obtained by oxygen-uptake and static-microcosm methodologies. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A mandioca (Manihot esculenta) é a terceira cultura mais importante do país na alimentação básica da população. A produção de farinha de mandioca gera um efluente denominado manipueira que contem elevada quantidade de matéria orgânica e cianeto. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a remoção da demanda química de oxigênio (DQO), turbidez e cianeto da manipueira por tratamentos físico-químico e biológico. No tratamento físico-químico por coagulação-floculação, três planejamentos fatoriais completos foram realizados para investigar os fatores: pH, tanino e o polímero sintético auxiliar da floculação (Polipan) sobre as variáveis respostas: DQO, turbidez e cianeto. A eficiência máxima de remoção de DQO foi 91 % a pH 8,0, na presença de tanino 1,0 mL/L e Polipan 0,030 ppm. A maior remoção de turbidez (75 %) foi determinada a pH 8 e tanino 0,8 mL/L, na ausência do Polipan para diminuir os custos do tratamento. Nessas condições, a redução máxima de cianeto foi de 12 %. Nos tratamentos biológicos aeróbios durante 48 h, as eficiências máximas de redução de DQO 88 % e de turbidez 69 % foram determinadas na presença de consórcio microbiano 20 % v/v, cloreto de amônio 5 - 6 % e a pH 8,0. Para os tratamentos físico-químico e biológico, os resultados obtidos mostram que o pH 8 foi fator chave para remoção de compostos orgânicos e do cianeto da manipueira. Os tratamentos da manipueira por coagulação-floculação e por consórcio microbiano diminuem a carga orgânica desse efluente antes de ser lançado nos recursos hídricos / Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is the third most important crop in the basic food of the Brazilian population. The production of cassava flour generates an effluent, called manipueira, containing high organic matter and cyanide. The objective of this study was to investigate the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity and cyanide from cassava wastewater by physical-chemical and biological treatments. In the physicalchemical treatment by coagulation-flocculation, three full factorial designs were carried out to investigate the factors: pH, tannin concentration and the flocculation polymer (Polipan) concentration on the response variables: COD, turbidity and cyanide. The maximum efficiency for COD removal was 91 % at pH 8.0 in the presence of tannin 1.0 mL/L and Polipan 0.030 ppm. The highest removal of turbidity (75 %) was determined at pH 8 and tannin 0.8 mL/L in the absence of Polipan to reduce the costs of treatment. Under these conditions, the maximum removal of cyanide was 12 %. In the aerobic biological treatment for 48 h, the maximum efficiencies for COD reduction of 88 % and for turbidity reduction of 69 % were determined in the presence of the microbial consortium 20 % v/v, ammonium chloride 5 6 % and at pH 8.0. For the treatments, physical-chemical and biological, the results show that pH 8 is a key factor for removal of organic compounds and cyanide from cassava wastewater. The treatments of the manipueira by coagulation-flocculation and by microbial consortium decrease the pollution of this effluent before being launched in the water resources

Increasing nitrate concentration in ground water from improper disposal of sewage and excessive use of fertilizers is deleterious to human health as ingestion of nitrate contaminated water can cause methaemoglobinemia in infants and possibly cancer in adults. The permissible limit for nitrate in potable water is 45 mg/L. Unacceptable levels of nitrate in groundwater is an important environmental issue as nearly 80 % of Indian rural population depends on groundwater as source of drinking water. Though numerous technologies such as reverse osmosis, ion exchange, electro-dialysis, permeable reactive barriers using zero-valent iron exists, nitrate removal from water using affordable, sustainable technology, continues to be a challenging issue as nitrate ion is not amenable to precipitation or removable by mineral adsorbents. Tapping the denitrification potential of soil denitrifiers which are inherently available in the soil matrix is a possible sustainable approach to remove nitrate from contaminated drinking water. Insitu denitrification is a useful process to remove NO3–N from water and wastewater. In biological denitrification, nitrate ions function as terminal electron acceptor instead of oxygen; the carbon source serve as electron donor and the energy generated in the redox process is utilized for microbial cell growth and maintenance. In this process, microorganisms first reduce nitrate to nitrite and then produce nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, and nitrogen gas. The pathway for nitrate reduction can be written as: NO3-→ NO2-→ NO → N2O → N2. (i) Insitu denitrification process occurring in soil environments that utilizes indigenous soil microbes is the chosen technique for nitrate removal from drinking water in this thesis. As presence of clay in soil promotes bacterial activity, bentonite clay was mixed with natural sand and this mix, referred as bentonite enhanced sand (BES) acted as the habitat for the denitrifying bacteria. Nitrate reduction experiments were carried out in batch studies using laboratory prepared nitrate contaminated water spiked with ethanol; the batch studies examined the mechanisms, kinetics and parameters influencing the heterotrophic denitrification process. Optimum conditions for effective nitrate removal by sand and bentonite enhanced sand (BES) were evaluated. Heterotrophic denitrification reactors were constructed with sand and BES as porous media and the efficiency of these reactors in removing nitrate from contaminated water was studied. Batch experiments were performed at 40°C with sand and bentonite enhanced sand specimens that were wetted with nutrient solution containing 22.6 mg of nitrate-nitrogen and ethanol to give C/N ratio of 3. The moist sand and BES specimens were incubated for periods ranging from 0 to 48 h. During nitrate reduction, nitrite ions were formed as intermediate by-product and were converted to gaseous nitrogen. There was little formation of ammonium ions in the soil–water extract during reduction of nitrate ions. Hence it was inferred that nitrate reduction occurred by denitrification than through dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). The reduction in nitrate concentration with time was fitted into rate equations and was observed to follow first order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.118 h-1 at 40°C. Results of batch studies also showed that the first order rate constant for nitrate reduction decreased to 5.3x10-2 h-1 for sand and 4.3 x10-2 h-1 for bentonite-enhanced sand (BES) at 25°C. Changes in pH, redox potential and dissolved oxygen in the soil-solution extract served as indicators of nitrate reduction process. The nitrate reduction process was associated with increasing pH and decreasing redox potential. The oxygen depletion process followed first order kinetics with a rate constant of 0.26 h-1. From the first order rate equation of oxygen depletion process, the nitrate reduction lag time was computed to be 12.8 h for bentonite enhanced sand specimens. Ethanol added as an electron donor formed acetate ions as an intermediate by-product that converted to bicarbonate ions; one mole of nitrate reduction generated 1.93 moles of bicarbonate ions that increased the pH of the soil-solution extract. The alkaline pH of BES specimen (8.78) rendered it an ideal substrate for soil denitrification process. In addition, the ability of bentonite to stimulate respiration by maintaining adequate levels of pH for sustained bacterial growth and protected bacteria in its microsites against the effect of hypertonic osmotic pressures, promoting the rate of denitrification. Buffering capacity of bentonite was mainly due to high cation exchange capacity of the clay. The presence of small pores in BES specimens increased the water retention capacity that aided in quick onset of anaerobiosis within the soil microsites. The biochemical process of nitrate reduction was affected by physical parameters such as bentonite content, water content, and temperature and chemical parameters such as C/N ratio, initial nitrate concentration and presence of indigenous micro-organisms in contaminated water. The rate of nitrate reduction process progressively increased with bentonite content but the presence of bentonite retarded the conversion of nitrite ions to nitrogen gas, hence there was significant accumulation of nitrite ions with increase in bentonite content. The dependence of nitrate reduction process on water content was controlled by the degree of saturation of the soil specimens. The rate of nitrate reduction process increased with water content until the specimens were saturated. The threshold water content for nitrate reduction process for sand and bentonite enhanced sand specimens was observed to be 50 %. The rate of nitrate reduction linearly increased with C/N ratio till steady state was attained. The optimum C/N ratio was 3 for sand and bentonite enhanced sand specimens. The activation energy (Ea) for this biochemical reaction was 35.72 and 47.12 kJmol-1 for sand and BES specimen respectively. The temperature coefficient (Q10) is a measure of the rate of change of a biological or chemical system as a consequence of increasing the temperature by 10°C. The temperature coefficient of sand and BES specimen was 2.0 and 2.05 respectively in the 15–25°C range; the temperature coefficients of sand and BES specimens were 1.62 and 1.77 respectively in the 25–40°C range. The rate of nitrate reduction linearly decreased with increase in initial nitrate concentration. The biochemical process of nitrate reduction was unaffected by presence of co-ions and nutrients such as phosphorus but was influenced by presence of pathogenic bacteria. Since nitrate leaching from agricultural lands is the main source of nitrate contamination in ground water, batch experiments were performed to examine the role of vadose (unsaturated soil) zone in the nitrate mitigation by employing sand and BES specimens with varying degree of soil saturation and C/N ratio as controlling parameters. Batch studies with sand and BES specimens showed that the incubation period required to reduce nitrate concentrations below 45 mg/L (t45) strongly depends on degree of saturation when there is inadequate carbon source available to support denitrifying bacteria; once optimum C/N ratio is provided, the rate of denitrification becomes independent of degree of soil saturation. The theoretical lag time (lag time refers to the period that is required for denitrification to commence) for nitrate reduction for sand specimens at Sr= 81 and 90%, C/N ratio = 3 and temperature = 40ºC corresponded to 24.4 h and 23.1 h respectively. The lag time for BES specimens at Sr = 84 and 100%, C/N ratio = 3 and temperature = 40ºC corresponded to 13.9 h and 12.8 h respectively. Though the theoretically computed nitrate reduction lag time for BES specimens was nearly half of sand specimens, it was experimentally observed that nitrate reduction proceeds immediately without any lag phase in sand and BES specimens suggesting the simultaneous occurrence of anaerobic microsites in both. Denitrification soil columns (height = 5 cm and diameter = 8.2 cm) were constructed using sand and bentonite-enhanced sand as porous reactor media. The columns were permeated with nitrate spiked solutions (100 mg/L) and the outflow was monitored for various chemical parameters. The sand denitrification column (packing density of 1.3 Mg/m3) showed low nitrate removal efficiency because of low hydraulic residence time (1.32 h) and absence of carbon source. A modified sand denitrification column constructed with higher packing density (1.52 Mg/m3) and ethanol addition to the influent nitrate solution improved the reactor performance such that near complete nitrate removal was achieved after passage of 50 pore volumes. In comparison, the BES denitrification column achieved 87.3% nitrate removal after the passage of 28.9 pore volumes, corresponding to 86 h of operation of the BES reactor. This period represents the maturation period of bentonite enhanced sand bed containing 10 % bentonite content. Though nitrate reduction is favored by sand bed containing 10 % bentonite, the low flow rate (20-25 cm3/h) impedes its use for large scale removal of nitrate from drinking water. Hence new reactor was designed using lower bentonite content of 5 % that required maturation period of 9.6 h. The 5 and 10 % bentonite-enhanced sand reactors bed required shorter maturation period than sand reactor as presence of bentonite contributes to increase in hydraulic retention time of nitrate within the reactor. On continued operation of the BES reactors, reduction in flow rate from blocking of pores by microbial growth on soil particles and accumulation of gas molecules was observed that was resolved by backwashing the reactors.

The biosorption of copper, nickel, gold and platinum from single metal aqueous solutions by the nickel hyperaccumulator Berkheya coddii plant biomass was investigated. Potentiometric titrations of the biomass and determination of optimal sorption pH for each metal showed that nickel ions were released from the biomass into solution. The presence of free nickel ions interfered with the uptake of the other three metals and further biosorption investigations were discontinued. Three fungal isolates found colonising metal solutions were cultured and screened for their ability to remove 50 mg.l⁻¹ of copper, nickel, gold and platinum from solution and to survive and grow in precious metal refinery wastewaters. One isolate was selected for further studies based on its superior metal uptake capabilities (35 and 39 mg.l⁻¹ of gold and platinum, respectively) and was identified as Phoma glomerata. Copper, nickel, gold and platinum uptake studies revealed that nickel and gold were the most toxic metal ions, however, toxicity was dependent on pH. At pH 6 more biomass growth was achieved than at lower pH values and metal uptake increased by 51 and 17 % for copper and nickel, respectively. In addition, the production of extracellular polymeric substances played a role in base metal interaction. Precious metals were observed to be preferentially removed from solution, complete removal of gold and platinum was observed at all initial pH values, 89 % of copper was bioaccumulated at an initial metal concentration of 55 mg.l⁻¹ (pH 6) and only 23 % of nickel was removed from solution under the same conditions. Metal bioaccumulation was confirmed through transmission electron microscopy and micro particle induced X-ray emission. The effect of P. glomerata immobilised in a packed bed reactor on precious metal refinery wastewaters was investigated. It was found that the fungal isolate was not able to remove the high salt and chemical oxygen demand concentrations found in the wastewaters, however due to its ability to survive and grow in undiluted wastewater and remove metal ions from solution it may be utilised as a metal detoxification step in the treatment process train. / PDFCreator Version 0.9.0 / AFPL Ghostscript 8.53

Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-01T18:20:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_roberto.pdf: 771972 bytes, checksum: 84b4fdd96e095e36234f411eb7d531d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-02-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is the third most important crop in the basic food of the Brazilian population. The production of cassava flour generates an effluent, called manipueira , containing high organic matter and cyanide. The objective of this study was to investigate the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity and cyanide from cassava wastewater by physical-chemical and biological treatments. In the physicalchemical treatment by coagulation-flocculation, three full factorial designs were carried out to investigate the factors: pH, tannin concentration and the flocculation polymer (Polipan) concentration on the response variables: COD, turbidity and cyanide. The maximum efficiency for COD removal was 91 % at pH 8.0 in the presence of tannin 1.0 mL/L and Polipan 0.030 ppm. The highest removal of turbidity (75 %) was determined at pH 8 and tannin 0.8 mL/L in the absence of Polipan to reduce the costs of treatment. Under these conditions, the maximum removal of cyanide was 12 %. In the aerobic biological treatment for 48 h, the maximum efficiencies for COD reduction of 88 % and for turbidity reduction of 69 % were determined in the presence of the microbial consortium 20 % v/v, ammonium chloride 5 6 % and at pH 8.0. For the treatments, physical-chemical and biological, the results show that pH 8 is a key factor for removal of organic compounds and cyanide from cassava wastewater. The treatments of the manipueira by coagulation-flocculation and by microbial consortium decrease the pollution of this effluent before being launched in the water resources / A mandioca (Manihot esculenta) é a terceira cultura mais importante do país na alimentação básica da população. A produção de farinha de mandioca gera um efluente denominado manipueira que contem elevada quantidade de matéria orgânica e cianeto. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a remoção da demanda química de oxigênio (DQO), turbidez e cianeto da manipueira por tratamentos físico-químico e biológico. No tratamento físico-químico por coagulação-floculação, três planejamentos fatoriais completos foram realizados para investigar os fatores: pH, tanino e o polímero sintético auxiliar da floculação (Polipan) sobre as variáveis respostas: DQO, turbidez e cianeto. A eficiência máxima de remoção de DQO foi 91 % a pH 8,0, na presença de tanino 1,0 mL/L e Polipan 0,030 ppm. A maior remoção de turbidez (75 %) foi determinada a pH 8 e tanino 0,8 mL/L, na ausência do Polipan para diminuir os custos do tratamento. Nessas condições, a redução máxima de cianeto foi de 12 %. Nos tratamentos biológicos aeróbios durante 48 h, as eficiências máximas de redução de DQO 88 % e de turbidez 69 % foram determinadas na presença de consórcio microbiano 20 % v/v, cloreto de amônio 5 - 6 % e a pH 8,0. Para os tratamentos físico-químico e biológico, os resultados obtidos mostram que o pH 8 foi fator chave para remoção de compostos orgânicos e do cianeto da manipueira. Os tratamentos da manipueira por coagulação-floculação e por consórcio microbiano diminuem a carga orgânica desse efluente antes de ser lançado nos recursos hídricos