title: Biological removal of phenol from saline wastewater using a moving bed biofilm reactor containing acclimated mixed consortia.
abstract: In this study, the performance of an aerobic moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was assessed for the removal of phenol as the sole substrate from saline wastewater. The effect of several parameters namely inlet phenol concentration (200-1200 mg/L), hydraulic retention time (8-24 h), inlet salt content (10-70 g/L), phenol shock loading, hydraulic shock loading and salt shock loading on the performance of the 10 L MBBR inoculated with a mixed culture of active biomass gradually acclimated to phenol and salt were evaluated in terms of phenol and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiencies. The results indicated that phenol and COD removal efficiencies are affected by HRT, phenol and salt concentration in the bioreactor saline feed. The MBBR could remove up to 99% of phenol and COD from the feed saline wastewater at inlet phenol concentrations up to 800 mg/L, HRT of 18 h and inlet salt contents up to 40 g/L. The reactor could also resist strong shock loads. Furthermore, measuring biological quantitative parameters indicated that the biofilm plays a main role in phenol removal. Overall, the results of this investigation revealed that the developed MBBR system with high concentration of the active mixed biomass can play a prominent role in order to treat saline wastewaters containing phenol in industrial applications as a very efficient and flexible technology.
authors.affiliation: Biochemical and Bioenvironmental Research Center (BBRC), Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, PO Box 11155-9465, Azadi Ave, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyyed Ali Akbar
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nakhli
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, PO Box 19839-63113, Velenjak, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Kimia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmadizadeh
authors.affiliation: Biochemical and Bioenvironmental Research Center (BBRC), Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, PO Box 11155-9465, Azadi Ave, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fereshtehnejad
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, PO Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hossein
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Rostami
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, PO Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mojtaba
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safari
authors.affiliation: Biochemical and Bioenvironmental Research Center (BBRC), Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, PO Box 11155-9465, Azadi Ave, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Seyyed Mehdi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Borghei
keywords: Acclimated biomass; Biological treatment; Inhibitory effect; MBBR; Phenol; Saline wastewater