Evaluation of a Combined System Based on an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor (UASB) and Shallow Polishing Pond (SPP) for Textile Effluent Treatment

Abstract Color removal from textile effluents was evaluated using a laboratory-combined process based on an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor followed by a shallow polishing pond (SPP). The anaerobic reactor was fed with a real textile effluent, diluted 10-times in a 350 mg/L solution of pre-treated residual yeast extract from a brewery industry as nutrient source. The parameters color, COD, N-NH3 and toxicity were monitored throughout 45 days of operation. According to the results, decolorization and COD removal were highest in the anaerobic step, whereas the effluent was polished in the SPP unit. The overall efficiency of the complete UASB-SPP system for COD and color were 88 and 62%, respectively. Moreover, the N-NH3 generated by the residual yeast extract ammonification was below 5 mg/L for the final effluent. Finally, no toxicity was detected after the treatment steps, as shown by the Vibrio fischeri microscale assay.

Toxicities of Four Parabens and Their Mixtures to Daphnia magna and Aliivibrio fischeri

The objective of this study was to determine toxicities of four parabens (methyl paraben, MP; ethyl paraben, EP; n-propyl paraben, PP; and n-butyl paraben; BP) and their mixtures to two aquatic microorganisms, Daphnia magna and Aliivibrio fischeri. Parabens are one of the widely used preservatives for personal care products, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food also. First, each paraben was treated to D. magna to measure the toxicity levels as LC₂₀ and LC₅₀. The results showed their value of MP (25.2 mg/L, 73.4 mg/L), EP (18.4 mg/L, 43.7 mg/L), PP (10.4 mg/L, 21.1 mg/L) and BP (3.3 mg/L, 11.2 mg/L). Then, each of the parabens was treated to A. fischeri and calculated their EC₂₀ and EC₅₀ by bioluminescence inhibition test. The results showed the values of MP (2.93 mg/L, 16.8 mg/L), EP (1.18 mg/L, 6.74 mg/L), PP (0.51 mg/L, 5.85 mg/L) and BP (0.21 mg/L, 2.34 mg/L). These four parabens belong to the group classified as being ‘harmful to aquatic organisms’ (above 10 mg/L, below 100 mg/L). After measuring the toxicity, EC₂₀ values of two or more parabens were tested in order to investigate their toxicity. A total of ten combinations of four parabens were tested. As a result, the bioluminescence inhibition test of A. fischeri showed that the toxicity of mixture parabens was stronger than that of a single compound and combinations of three parabens showed the highest bioluminescence inhibition. These results showed that independent toxicity of paraben was maintained. Therefore, it can be predictable that the toxicity of paraben is getting stronger by the addition of other parabens.

Toxicities of Four Parabens and Their Mixtures to Daphnia magna and Aliivibrio fischeri

The objective of this study was to determine toxicities of four parabens (methyl paraben, MP; ethyl paraben, EP; n-propyl paraben, PP; and n-butyl paraben; BP) and their mixtures to two aquatic microorganisms, Daphnia magna and Aliivibrio fischeri. Parabens are one of the widely used preservatives for personal care products, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food also. First, each paraben was treated to D. magna to measure the toxicity levels as LC₂₀ and LC₅₀. The results showed their value of MP (25.2 mg/L, 73.4 mg/L), EP (18.4 mg/L, 43.7 mg/L), PP (10.4 mg/L, 21.1 mg/L) and BP (3.3 mg/L, 11.2 mg/L). Then, each of the parabens was treated to A. fischeri and calculated their EC₂₀ and EC₅₀ by bioluminescence inhibition test. The results showed the values of MP (2.93 mg/L, 16.8 mg/L), EP (1.18 mg/L, 6.74 mg/L), PP (0.51 mg/L, 5.85 mg/L) and BP (0.21 mg/L, 2.34 mg/L). These four parabens belong to the group classified as being ‘harmful to aquatic organisms’ (above 10 mg/L, below 100 mg/L). After measuring the toxicity, EC₂₀ values of two or more parabens were tested in order to investigate their toxicity. A total of ten combinations of four parabens were tested. As a result, the bioluminescence inhibition test of A. fischeri showed that the toxicity of mixture parabens was stronger than that of a single compound and combinations of three parabens showed the highest bioluminescence inhibition. These results showed that independent toxicity of paraben was maintained. Therefore, it can be predictable that the toxicity of paraben is getting stronger by the addition of other parabens.

Gestão ambiental nos terminais de armazenagem de produtos químicos líquidos a granel no Porto de Santos / Environmental management of storage terminals of liquid chemicals in bulk at Santos Port

O controle das águas residuárias nas indústrias e nos terminais de armazenagem de produtos químicos líquidos a granel é uma difícil tarefa, por conta da alta rotatividade e grande variedade de produtos químicos orgânicos armazenados e movimentados em suas atividades. Oito terminais e duas indústrias químicas localizadas no Porto de Santos foram avaliados por 10 anos. Foram realizadas mais de 2.500 análises químicas e ecotoxicológicas em 200 amostras de efluentes brutos e tratados. Nosso principal objetivo foi verificar se o teste de toxicidade aguda usando Vibrio fischeri poderia ser utilizado na gestão de águas residuais nas diferentes instalações dos terminais químicos e mostrar o seu papel como instrumento de prevenção a poluição, reduzindo a descarga de substâncias tóxicas persistentes nos ambientes aquáticos. Os índices de biodegradabilidade obtidos pela relação de Demanda Bioquímica de Oxigênio (DBO5) / Demanda Química de Oxigênio (DQO) dos efluentes brutos indicaram que 44% das amostras apresentaram matéria orgânica recalcitrante. Das 86 amostras do efluente final analisadas, 45 (52%) apresentaram resultados tóxicos para o teste com V. fischeri. Não houve correlação de DQO e ecotoxicidade, mostrando que efluentes com DQO baixa podem conter substâncias tóxicas com baixa capacidade de degradação. Foi possível recomendar a aplicação das melhores práticas operacionais, incluindo a segregação dos efluentes brutos ou um pré-tratamento com base nos resultados de ecotoxicidade e índice de biodegradabilidade. O reúso de água também foi abordado, indicando fontes e oportunidades de reutilização. Testes de ozonização também foram conduzidos nas águas pluviais dos terminais químicos e nos efluentes tratados das indústrias com resultados promissores. A integração da análise...

Wastewater control at industries and storage terminals of liquid chemical products in bulk is very difficult task due to the high turnover and great variety of organic chemicals handled and stored in their activities. Eight terminals and two chemical plants located in Santos Port, SP, Brazil had been evaluated for 10 years. More than 2,500 chemical and ecotoxicological analysis were performed in 200 samples of raw and treated effluents. Our main objective was to verify if the acute toxicity test using Vibrio fischeri could be used in the wastewater management of those facilities and show its role as a tool for pollution prevention by reducing the discharge of persistent toxic substances in estuarine systems. The indexes of biodegradability obtained by the ratio of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5) / Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) of raw effluents indicated that 44% of the samples presented recalcitrant organic matter. Out of 86 final effluent samples analyzed, 45 (52%) presented toxic result for V. fischeri test. No correlation was observed of COD and ecotoxicity, showing that with low COD effluent may contain toxic substances with low degradation capacity. It was possible to recommend the use of best operational practices including segregation of influents or a pre-treatment based on toxicity results and index biodegradability. Water reuse was also discussed indicating sources and opportunities for reuse in these facilities. Ozonisation tests were also conducted on the rain waters collected at the terminals facilities and on the treated effluents of the industries, showing promising results. The integration of chemical and ecotoxicity analysis turned out to be an excellent tool for wastewater management in chemical terminals, allowing rapid decision making for pollution control and prevention measures.

Toxidade do resíduo areia de fundição utilizando o teste com a bacteria luminescente Vibrio Fischeri / Toxicity of foundry sand wastes using the luminescent bacteria vibro fischeri assay

Wastes foundry sand can be contaminated by metals, depending on the kind of metal that is molten in the casting industry and/or organics from chemical bindings used in these process. Because of the complexity of these mixtures it is difficult to characterize using only chemical analyses. In order to obtain information about the ecological hazard of those samples, biological tests can be used. The acute toxicity test with the luminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri is a good choice due to its simplicity, low cost and rapid response. In this work virgin and used foundry sands from four different mold-making industries were analyzed. The aqueous extract of the nine virgin sands tested showed negative results for the luminescent bacteria. Ten out of the eighteen used sand samples were positive and they all belonged to the organics chemical-bounded sand process. The samples derived from the green sand mold-making process showed negative responses. Our work confirms that the Vibrio fischeri acute test can be used as an additional tool to evaluate the ecotoxicological hazard of foundry sands and that the toxicity seems to be related to the mold-making process.

O resíduo areia de fundição gerado pelas indústrias que fabricam peças metálicas pode conter diferentes metais,dependendo do tipo de metal fundido, e compostos orgânicos, provenientes dos ligantes químicos utilizados, de composição muitas vezes desconhecida. A complexidade destas amostras dificulta sua caracterização por análisesquímicas. Como ferramenta complementar a estas análises, pode-se utilizar testes ecotoxicológicos, como ode toxicidade aguda com a bactéria luminescente Vibrio fischeri. Neste trabalho foram comparados os resultados de amostras de areias virgens e areias de fundição descartadas de quatro diferentes processos de moldagem e macharia frente ao Vibrio fischeri com o objetivo de verificar a aplicabilidade deste teste para caracterização das areias. Os solubilizados das nove amostras de areias virgens apresentaram resultados negativos para o teste. Das dezoito amostras do resíduo areia de fundição testadas, dez apresentaram resultados positivos, correspondendo às areias que utilizam ligantes químicos orgânicos. As amostras provenientes dos processos denominados “areias verdes” apresentaram resultados negativos. Estes resultados, comparados com estudos existentes na literatura, sugerem que o teste com Vibrio fischeri pode ser utilizado como ferramenta adicional para a caracterização desses resíduos. Pode-se observar uma relação entre o ligante empregado no processo de moldagem e macharia e as amostras que apresentaram resultados positivos.

QSARS for acute toxicity of halogenated benzenes to bacteria in natural waters / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To measure the acute toxicity of halogenated benzenes to bacteria in natural waters and to study quantitative relationships between the structure and activity of chemicals.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The concentration values causing 50% inhibition of bacteria growth (24h-IC50) were determined according to the bacterial growth inhibition test method. The energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital and the net charge of carbon atom of 20 halogenated benzenes were calculated by the quantum chemical MOPAC program.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The log1/IC50 values ranged from 4.79 for 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene to 3.65 for chlorobenzene. A quantitative structure-activity relationship model was derived from the toxicity and structural parameters: log1/IC50 = -0.531(E(LUMO)) + 1.693(Qc) + 0.163(logP) + 3.375. This equation was found to fit well (r2 = 0.860, s = 0.106), and the average percentage error was only 1.98%.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Halogenated benzenes and alkyl halogenated benzenes are non-polar narcotics, and have hydrophobicity-dependent toxicity. The halogenated phenols and anilines exhibit a higher toxic potency than their hydrophobicity, whereas 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene is electrophile with the halogen acting as the leaving group.</p>