Abstract
A previously isolated indigenous strain of Pseudomonas sp. was used to treat effluents, a synthetic and an industrial-containing benzalkonium chloride (BAC), in continuous upflow biofilm aerobic reactors. The reactor used to treat the synthetic effluent was constructed from Plexiglas® and filled with hollow polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cylinders as support material, whereas the one used to treat the industrial effluent was constructed from PVC and had a high recirculation flow rate and lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA®) as support material. Biodegradation was evaluated by spectrophotometry, HPLC, and microbial growth. Detoxification was evaluated by using Vibrio fisheri, Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, and Lactuca sativa as test organisms. Maximal BAC influent concentrations were of 383.4 and 1172.0 mg L−1 respectively, which corresponds to a maximal organic load of 49.8 and 146.5 g BAC m−3 day−1. The efficiency of the reactors was higher than 99.3% in terms of compound removal and 97.0% in terms of COD removal. Complete detoxification of the effluent was demonstrated for the synthetic effluent, whereas a toxicity removal higher than 97% was reached in the case of the industrial effluent. The promising behavior of the isolated indigenous strain to degrade BAC in continuous reactors allows us to suggest its possible use in remediation processes.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Manuela Martinefsky and Dr. Valeria Tripodi from the Departamento de Tecnología. Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica, Universidad de Buenos Aires, for their collaboration in the chromatographic determination of the compound.
Funding
This work received grant from the University of Buenos Aires, supported by UBACYT Program-Project 20020130100378BA 2014-2017 and 20020170100555BA 2018-2020.
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Fortunato, M.S., Baroni, S., González, A.J. et al. Biodegradation and Detoxification of Benzalkonium Chloride in Synthetic and Industrial Effluents in Upflow Biofilm Aerobic Reactors. Water Air Soil Pollut 230, 79 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-019-4126-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-019-4126-9