Biodegradation of pentyl amine and aniline from petrochemical wastewater

Abstract

The objectives of the project were to isolate a bacterial strain capable of degrading pentyl amine and aniline and to define the optimal pentyl amine and aniline degradation conditions for this bacterial strain. The bacterial strain was isolated from activated sludge obtained from a Northeastern China treatment facility for petrochemical wastewater rich in pentyl amine and aniline. Once the strain was isolated, five triplicate (5) batch tests were used to establish the conditions for maximum pentyl amine and aniline degradation, by varying one at a time the following five factors: temperature, pH, reaction time, pollutant concentrations and aeration rate. In a final test, oil refinery sludge was inoculated with the strain and tested for the degradation of pentyl amine and aniline under optimal conditions, while observing the degradation pathway of pentyl amine and aniline. The isolated strain, PN1001, is a member of the Pseudomonas species and it was capable of degrading pentyl amine and aniline. The optimal reactor conditions for the degradation of a mixture of pentyl amine and aniline, at a concentration ranging between 150 and 200 mg/L, were found to be 30 °C at a pH of 7.0, under a reaction time of 24 h and a maximum solution dissolved oxygen level of 6 mg O 2/L. Under such conditions, the strain PN1001 degraded 93% and 89% of the pentyl amine and aniline, respectively, aniline being more toxic and demonstrating a more complex degradation pathway. The strain PN1001 degraded more contaminants when both were present because of the π and σ electron cloud coordination functions of aniline and pentyl amine, respectively, presumed to reduce the toxic effect of aniline. Once inoculated with the strain, oil refinery sludge degraded 93% and 88% of the pentyl amine and aniline, compared to the strain alone which degraded 72% and 82%, likely because of the sludge's buffering effect against the toxic environment.