Monitoring of Phenol in Wastewater Bioremediation by HPLC

Bioremediation emphasizes the detoxification and destruction of toxic substances by microorganisms. Wastewater obtained from an industrial concern was solvent extracted with methyl alcohol and dichloromethane and analysed by GC/MS. Besides phenol, a large variety of organic compounds were detected. Under controlled laboratory conditions, the wastewater was innoculated with a mixed culture of microorganisms specially selected for their abilities to degrade phenol. Samples were collected at regular intervals from the stirred tank bioreactor and analysed for phenol by reverse phase HPLC with a C18 column. Results shows that from an initial phenol concentration of 987 ppm, slightly more than 50% was destroyed within 163 hours. The dry weight of the microorganisms and the plate count (CFU/ml) shows a steady increase from 0.5238 gms to 0.5355 gms and from 1.1E+9 to 1.94E+13 respectively over the same period. This suggested that the phenol was consumed by the microorganisms as the sole carbon source.     

Source apportionment in oil spill remediation

A pipe rupture during unloading led to a spillage of 350-700 tonnes of Ca?o Limon, a light sweet crude oil, into San Vicente Bay in 2007. Initial clean-up methods removed the majority of the oil from the sandy beaches although some oil remained on the rocky shores. It was necessary for the responsible party to clean the spilled oil even though at this location there were already crude oil hydrocarbons from previous industrial activity. A biosolvent based on vegetable oil derivatives was used to solubilise the remaining oil and a statistical approach to source apportionment was used to determine the efficacy of the cleaning. Sediment and contaminated rock samples were taken prior to cleaning and again at the same locations two days after application of the biosolvent. The oil was extracted using a modified USEPA Method 3550B. The alkanes were quantified together with oil biomarkers on a GC-MS. The contribution that Ca?o Limon made to the total oil hydrocarbons was calculated from a Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis using Ca?o Limon crude oil as the source. By the time the biosolvent was applied, there had already been some attenuation of the oil with all alkanes 相似文献   

Analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in sediments using in situ SPME sampling

A new method of determining the composition of sediment/soil gases and their volatile organic compound (VOC) content is described. VOCs were collected in situ from intertidal sediments in the Menai Strait and surrounding areas. The sampling was performed using a portable sampler comprising a funnel coupled to a SPME fibre. Gases were extracted from the sediments using a small vacuum pump pulling 100 mL min(-1) at atmospheric pressure. Sixty one different compounds were detected in the samples, and their fluxes and concentrations were determined. The compounds were classified into groups: halogenated, sulfur containing compounds, aldehydes, BTEXs (benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylene) and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the chemical composition of extracted gas was influenced primarily by sediment type. Muddy anoxic sediments were dominated by halogenated and sulfur containing compounds and sandy sediments had more aldehydes and BTEXs.