title: Remediation of the effect of adding cyanides on an algal/bacterial treatment of a mixture of organic pollutants in a continuous photobioreactor.
abstract: The effect of inorganic pollutants on the treatment of organic pollutants using algal/bacterial microcosm was investigated in a continuous photobioreactor. The microcosm was composed of Chlorella vulgaris MM1 and Pseudomonas MT1 and was able to efficiently treat artificial waste-water contaminated with 6.4 salicylate and 2.2 mM phenol at a hydraulic retention time of 4 days. No negative effect was recorded when the waste-water was supplemented with 1.6 mM thiocyanate; however, the treatment efficiency severely deteriorated when the system was challenged with 0.74 mM cyanide. Addition of 2 g NaHCO3 l(-1) did not improve the efficiency of the treatment. Toxicity of the pollutants to the alga was cyanide > thiocyanate > phenol > salicylate. The high toxicity of the waste-water was eliminated either by a 25-fold dilution or by photocatalytic pre-treatment which allowed the subsequent efficient biological treatment.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Immunology Department and Biotechnology Centre Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Kasr El-Aini Street, Cairo, 11562, Egypt.
authors.forename: Tamer
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Essam
authors.forename: Marwa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: ElRakaiby
authors.forename: Azza
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agha
mesh_terms: D048408:Chlorella vulgaris / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D003486:Cyanides / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000378:metabolism*; D058433:Photobioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D003486:Cyanides; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical