Biofilter For Treatment Of Oily Water Effluents

In this study, the efficiency of the biofiltering material for the treatment of oily water effluents from total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) was evaluated. The soil yeast strain Rhodotorula sp. 51-18-2R (99) Y-2993D [7] isolated from the oil-polluted soils of the Usinsk region of the Republic of Komi, was immobilized on basalt fibre as a matrix, and the ability of the biomaterial to degrade oily water effluents obtained from treatment facilities of the automobile operating company of Syktyvkar, Republic of Komi, Russia was investigated. During the first stage, Rhodotorula sp. cell culture fluid with a cell titre of 10(8) CFU mL(-1) was sprayed on the basalt matrix. The basalt fibre was air-dried within 24 h and was filled into cartridges of the filter of the treatment facilities. Effluents were sampled from both the input and output flow. To improve cell retention on the material and to obtain the basalt fibre matrix (BFM), cationic starch (CS) oxamyl processing was conducted as follows: 1 g of the fibrous material was immersed in a CS solution with a CS concentration of 0.1 (BFM-0.1) or 0.5 mg mL(-1) (BFM-0.5) for 1 hour and kept at standard conditions. Then, the sample was air-dried and immersed for 24 h in Rhodotorula cell culture fluid and then air-dried again. To estimate the number of immobilized cells, microphotographic images were obtained with a scanning electron microscope and MICROS MC-200 x 100 oil-immersion objective after 80 days of sample incubation. An experimental continuous flow apparatus was constructed for continuous treatment of artificially contaminated water samples. A separable silicone tube (10 mm x 100 mm) was used for the bioreactor. The model water (1 L) was continuously fed into the bioreactor filled with 1 g of the biofiltering material with a peristaltic pump. The model water flow rate was controlled to be 1 mL, s(-1). Water exiting the bioreactor was uviolized to halt the biological processes. Model water that passed through the column filled with raw basalt fibre was used as a control. TPH in water was analysed using a fluorescence analyser, "FLUORAT-02-3M", according to Federal Environmental Normative Document 16.1.21-98 [8]. All experiments were performed in triplicate.