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Alkaline textile wastewater biotreatment: A sulfate-reducing granular sludge based lab-scale study
Qian Zeng1, Tianwei Hao2, Hamish Robert Mackey3
1Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China.
Journal of Hazardous Materials
|March 13, 2017
Summary
Sulfate-reducing granular sludge effectively treats azo dye (Procion Red HE-7B) in alkaline wastewater. Granular sludge enhances dye and chemical oxygen demand removal, even under challenging conditions.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Dyeing wastewater poses environmental challenges due to recalcitrant organic pollutants.
- Azo dyes, like Procion Red HE-7B, are common and difficult to degrade.
- Alkaline conditions and high organic loads complicate wastewater treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of using sulfate-reducing granular sludge for treating azo dye wastewater.
- To evaluate the performance of microbial consortia under alkaline conditions (pH 11).
- To understand the influence of chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration on dye degradation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized sulfate-reducing granular sludge for decolorization and degradation of Procion Red HE-7B.
- Examined COD concentrations ranging from 500 to 3000 mg/L.
- Employed High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) for metabolite identification.
- Used high-throughput sequencing to identify key functional organisms.
Main Results:
- Achieved over 90% removal efficiency for Procion Red HE-7B at higher organic strengths.
- Identified three dye-degradation metabolites.
- Granular sludge demonstrated superior HE-7B and COD removal compared to floccular systems.
- Specific removal rate enhanced to 17.5 mg-COD/gVSSh-1.
Conclusions:
- Sulfate-reducing granular sludge is effective for treating azo dye wastewater under alkaline conditions.
- Granular sludge offers enhanced performance and cost-effectiveness in challenging wastewater treatment scenarios.
- Microbial consortia within granules are key to efficient dye degradation.
