title: Evaluation of volcanic pumice stone as media in fixed bed sequence batch reactor for atrazine removal from aquatic environments.
abstract: Atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine) is a component of S-triazine. Its characteristics make it a pollutant of ecosystems and a probable human carcinogen. The present study evaluated volcanic pumice stone as a suitable media for biological growth and biofilm development in a fixed-bed sequencing batch reactor (FBSBR) for atrazine removal from aquatic environments. The FBSBR was fed with synthetic wastewater containing sucrose and atrazine at four hydraulic retention times to assess biodegradation of atrazine by a microbial consortium for removal from aquatic environments. The maximum efficiency for atrazine and soluble chemical oxygen demand removal were 97.9% and 98.9%, respectively. The results of this research showed that the Stover-Kincannon model was a very good fit (R2> 99%) for loading atrazine onto the FBSBR. Increasing the initial concentration of atrazine increased the removal efficiency. There was no significant inhibition of the mixed aerobic microbial consortia by the atrazine. Atrazine degradation depended on its initial concentration in the wastewater and the amount of atrazine in the influent. Although this system shows good potential for atrazine removal from aqueous environments, that remaining in the effluent does not yet meet international standards. Further research is required to make this system effective for removal of atrazine from the environment.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences and Technology Research Center, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Derakhshan
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Hassan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Ehrampoush
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran and Center for Solid Waste Research, Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Amir Hossein
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Mahvi
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faramarzian
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Public Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mokhtari
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Research Center, Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, School of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran E-mail: mazloomi@sums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Seyed Mohammad
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Mazloomi
mesh_terms: D001280:Atrazine / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018441:Biofilms; D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D019149:Bioreactors; D006540:Herbicides / Q000378:metabolism*; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology; D017640:Silicates; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D006540:Herbicides; D017640:Silicates; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C005144:pumice; D001280:Atrazine