Simultaneous removal of selenite and phenol from wastewater in an upflow fungal pellet bioreactor

Abstract

BACKGROUND The simultaneous treatment of wastewater containing selenite and phenol in batch and continuous systems, inoculated with pellets of Phanerochaete chrysosporium, was evaluated in this study. RESULTS Synthetic oil refinery wastewater containing 15 mg L−1 selenite and 100–600 mg L−1 phenol was used in batch incubations for 5 days. Orange‐red colored pellets developed during selenite incubations in the presence of up to 400 mg L−1 of phenol, which confirms the formation of elemental selenium with removal efficiencies ranging from 57–78.5% and 75–90.8% for, respectively, phenol and selenite. Continuous experiments in two upflow fungal pelleted bioreactors (30 °C, pH 4.5, hydraulic retention time of 16.7 h) fed the synthetic oil refinery wastewater containing phenol or phenol with selenite were performed for 38 days. The maximum removal efficiency of phenol in the fungal bioreactor was 100% (up to day 26). CONCLUSION Selenite mass balance showed that the overall maximum removal efficiency of selenite in the presence of phenol was 67.3%. The critical phenol and selenite loading rates of the upflow bioreactors were ∼12 and 4.3 mg L−1 h−1, respectively. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry

Performance of wild-Serbian Ganoderma lucidum mycelium in treating synthetic sewage loading using batch bioreactor

“…In another study, 24 h was needed for P . chrysosporium to be effective in removing phenol from synthetic oil refinery wastewater 24 . From here, fungi was adjusted the environmental pH for the fungi to utilised the pollutant and lead to a reduction in the pollutant concentration.…”

Filamentous Fungi as Bioremediation Agents of Industrial Effluents: A Systematic Review

“…Studies utilizing this fungus in the treatment of waste containing phenolic compounds have shown a rapid reduction in compound concentrations, reaching up to 90% within 12 hours of treatment [48]. Furthermore, in samples containing up to 100 mg/L of phenolic compounds, studies have observed an 80% reduction in just 5 days, utilizing an upflow fungal bioreactor featuring the activity of Phanerochaete chrysosporium [49].…”