Analysis of toxicity from the effluent generated in a furniture industry spray booth using the species Lactuca sativa and Allium cepa

Isabela Bruna De Tavares Machado Bolonhesi,Deize Dias Lopes

doi:10.4136/ambi-agua.2246

Abstract

This study evaluated the toxicity of effluent generated in a furniture industry spray booth, before and after treatment in a system composed of an anaerobic sequencing batch (ASBR) followed by an aerobic sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The toxicity tests were carried out with raw (with and without dilutions) and treated effluent to evaluate the toxic potential using Allium cepa and Lactuca sativa as bioindicators. The toxicity tests, using Allium cepa and Lactuca sativa, indicated that the anaerobic-aerobic treatment performed was efficient to reduce the toxicity of the paint booth effluent. The raw effluent, undiluted and diluted (at 1:10; 1:8 and 1:6 dilutions), showed toxic effect on the root growth of Allium cepa, as it inhibited root growth by 100%. In the tests with Lactuca sativa seeds, there was partial inhibition, between 44% and 63%, for 1:10 and 1:8 dilutions, but for the 1: 6 dilution and without dilution of effluent the inhibition was 100%. The treated effluent, in an ASBR followed by an SBR, presented a small percentage of inhibition for tests with Allium cepa (13%) and Lactuca sativa seeds (4%). The effluent treated by the anaerobic system followed by aerobic presented low toxicity without generating lethal or sub-lethal effects to the test organisms, which indicates the efficiency of the treatment process.

Highlights

The wastewater produced in spray booths of the furniture industry change according to the type of the production
This study evaluated the toxicity of the effluent generated in a spray booth of the furniture industry, before and after treatment in a system composed of an anaerobic sequencing batch (ASBR) followed by an aerobic reactor operated under an sequencing batch reactor (SBR) mode
It should be noted that for Phase 3, the anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) presented instability with less organic matter and formaldehyde removal compared to Phases 1 and 2. This must have been due to the inhibition of the action of microorganisms caused by the high concentration of formaldehyde (Pereira and Zaiat, 2009)

Summary

Introduction

The wastewater produced in spray booths of the furniture industry change according to the type of the production. Paints and varnishes contain urea-formaldehyde resins, so formaldehyde is one of the organic compounds in higher concentrations (up to 400 mg.L-1) in this type of wastewater, and this compound can be toxic to humans and animals (Lu e Hegemann, 1998). L-1 (Pereira and Zaiat, 2009) In higher concentrations, it causes the inhibition of the microorganisms, and reduces the capacity of organic matter removal in the treatment process. It causes the inhibition of the microorganisms, and reduces the capacity of organic matter removal in the treatment process In this case, it might be necessary to dilute the effluent to avoid inhibition of the process (Lu and Hegemann, 1998)

Methods

Results

Conclusion