The use of seaweed and sugarcane bagasse for the biological treatment of metal-contaminated waters under sulfate-reducing conditions.
When wetlands reach maximum treatment capacity to remove heavy metals, removal can still take place through precipitation as sulfide because of the biological reduction of sulfate. To achieve this goal, anaerobic conditions must be attained, a sulfate source must exist, and an adequate substrate for sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is also required. In the present work, two ligneous-cellulosic materials, a brown seaweed and sugarcane bagasse, have been selected as substrates for SRB growth. Experiments were simultaneously conducted in continuous operation in two columns (0.57 L each), one containing the ligneous-cellulosic material plus inoculum and another containing only the ligneous-cellulosic material. In this work, the removal of cadmium and zinc was studied because of their presence in effluents from mining/metallurgy operations. Results obtained indicated that the inoculated reactor was able to treat the effluent more efficiently than the noninoculated reactor considering the time course of the tests.
Gonçalves
Márcia Monteiro Machado
MM
Instituto de Química, Programa de Pós-graduação em Engenharia Química, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
de Oliveira Mello
Luiz Antonio
LA
da Costa
Antonio Carlos Augusto
AC
D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002482:Cellulose / Q000378:metabolism*; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D031786:Saccharum / Q000382:microbiology*; D012624:Seaweed / Q000382:microbiology*; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
D008670:Metals; D013431:Sulfates; D002482:Cellulose; C027433:bagasse