Removal of pentachlorophenol from contaminated wastewater using phytoremediation and bioaugmentation processes

Abstract

The phytoremediation procedure was conducted by Lemna gibba (L) and Typha angustifolia (T) and the bioaugmentation one was operated by P.putida HM627618. The ability of the selected P.putida HM627618 to tolerate and remove PCP (200 mg L−1) was performed by HPLC analysis and the optical density at 600 nm measurement. Five different experiments were conducted in STWW for PCP testing removal (100 mg L−1): two phytoremediation essays (T + PCP; L + PCP), three bioaugmentation-phytoremediation essays (T + B + PCP; L + B + PCP; L + T + B + PCP) and a negative control assay with PCP. Some analytical parameters were determined in this study such as bacterial count, chlorophylls a and b, COD, pH and PCP content. The main found results showed that the average PCP removal by P.putida HM627618 was around 87.5% after 7 days of incubation, and 88% of PCP removal achieved by treatment (T + B) after 9 days. During these experiments, pH, COD and chloride content showed a net increase in all treatments. The chlorophylls a and b in case of (T) and (L) phytoremediation showed a decrease with a value less than 10 μg/mg of fresh material after 20 days of cultivation.