Synchronous detoxification and reduction treatment of tannery sludge using Cr (VI) resistant bacterial strains.

This investigation focused on the simultaneous decrease of tannery sludge and the reduction of its high chromium (Cr(VI)) content. This was accomplished through the addition of mixed bacterial strains that were cultured in the laboratory, subsequent to their isolation from tannery sludge. The results indicated that under anaerobic conditions, the amount of the tannery sludge was decreased by 27% with these mixed bacteria. The impacts of various parameters were explored, such as pH, processing duration, strain inoculation, and temperature. Along with the decreased volume of sludge, the Cr(VI) concentration was lowered as well. Among the isolated bacterial strains, WY601 (belonging to Stenotrophomonas sp.) demonstrated the highest Cr(VI) resistance; from an initial concentration of 300 mg L-1, the Cr(VI) level was decreased by 90% within 65 h. Hexavalent chromate reductase was found to be localized primarily within the extracellular membrane or adsorbed to its surface, and a mechanism was proposed for the removal of Cr(VI) via WY601. Further, the WY601 isolate was found to be tolerant to other toxic heavy metals. In summary, the isolated mixed bacterial strains in our study demonstrated a strong potential for the treatment of tannery sludge, as they could simultaneously decrease its volume while lowering high Cr(VI) levels.

Application of heterogeneous catalytic ozonation as a tertiary treatment of effluent of biologically treated tannery wastewater.

The present study employed a Mn-Cu/Al2O3 heterogeneous catalytic ozonation process for tertiary treatment of actual tannery wastewater, focusing on its feasibility in that application. The primary factors affecting the removal efficiency of organic pollutants were investigated, including catalyst dosage, ozone dosage, and initial pH value. The experimental results showed that the addition of a Mn-Cu/Al2O3 catalyst improved the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) during ozonation, which initiated a 29.3% increase for COD removal, compared to ozonation alone after 60 min. The optimum pH, catalyst dosage, and ozone dosage were determined to be 7.0, 2.0 g/L, and 0.3 g/h, respectively. Under these conditions, following 60 min of reaction, the COD removal efficiency and the concentration in effluent were 88%, and 17 mg/L, respectively. In addition, the presence of tert-butanol (a well known hydroxyl radical scavenger) strongly inhibited COD removal via Mn-Cu/Al2O3 catalytic ozonation, indicating that the Mn-Cu/Al2O3 catalytic ozonation process follows a hydroxyl radical (OH·) reaction mechanism. The Mn-Cu/Al2O3 catalyst exhibited good stability and reusability. Finally, the kinetic analysis revealed that the apparent reaction rate constant of COD removal with the Mn-Cu/Al2O3 catalytic ozonation system (0.0328 min(-1)) was 2.3 times that of an ozonation system alone (0.0141 min(-1)). These results demonstrated that the catalytic ozonation using Mn-Cu/Al2O3 is an effective and promising process for tertiary treatment of tannery effluent in biological systems.

Enhanced treatment of tannery wastewater in an integrated multistage bioreactor (IMBR) by the predominant bacterial strains enriched from marine sediments.

An innovative integrated multistage bioreactor (IMBR) system, which was augmented with three predominant bacterial strains (Lactobacillus paracasei CL1107, Pichia jadinii CL1705, and Serratia marcescens CL1502) isolated from marine sediments, was developed to treat real tannery wastewater without performing physicochemical pretreatment, with the potential to reduce the generation of waste sludge and odors. The performance of the IMBR treatment system, with and without the inclusion of the predominant bacterial strains, was compared. The results indicated that the performance of the IMBR system without bioaugmentation by the predominant bacterial strains was poor. However, when in the presence of the predominant bacterial strains, the IMBR system exhibited high removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand (COD) (97%), NH4(+)-N (97.7%), and total nitrogen (TN) (90%). In addition, the system had the capacity for the simultaneous removal of organics and nitrogen, heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification being carried out concurrently, thereby avoiding the strong inhibition of high concentrations of COD on nitrification. The system possessed excellent adaptability and ability to resist influent loading fluctuations, and had a good alkalinity balance such that it could achieve a high NH4(+)-N, and TN removal efficiency without a supplement of external alkalinity. In addition, an empirical performance modeling of the IMBR system was analyzed.

Simultaneous chromate reduction and azo dye decolourization by Lactobacillus paracase CL1107 isolated from deep sea sediment.

Lactobacillus paracase CL1107 capable of removing toxic chromium (Cr(VI)) and Acid Black (ATT) azo dye simultaneously was isolated from deep sea sediment of the North Atlantic. CL1107 exhibited appreciable dye-Cr(VI) bioremoval ability in the pH range from 5 to 7, temperature 25-35 °C and NaCl 0-6% under aerobic conditions. The maximum removal values of Cr(VI) (95.8%) and dye (92.3%) were obtained in the media including only Cr(VI) or dye at initial concentration of 100 mg/L. In the experiments for the simultaneous treatment of both pollutants, the reduction of Cr(VI) and dye was 58.5% and 51.9%, respectively. The azo dye and Cr(VI) reductive activities in strain CL1107 were located in the cell free extract and cell debris, respectively. The mechanisms of azo dye and Cr(VI) reduction were found to be enzyme-mediated. In the treatment of saline tannery wastewater, decolourization of about 76% and 63% Cr(VI) reduction of were achieved. Furthermore, Azo dyes, Cr(VI) and wastewater showed reduced toxicity toward Artemia salina after treatment. These results demonstrate the potential of CL1107 in bioremediation of dye or/and Cr(VI) contamination in salt environments.