Chapter 7 - Biofiltration techniques in the remediation of hazardous inorganic and organic contaminants

Abstract

Rampant discharge of industrial effluent comprising toxic heavy metals and volatile organic compounds into the waterbodies (such rivers and lakes) has created toxicity for both the environment and health. Various treatment methods and technologies have been developed for remediation of organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater, among all, the technologies utilizing microorganisms in biofiltration have gained much attention. Microorganisms such as bacteria, algae and fungi play crucial role in remediation of hazardous compounds, and their immobilization on bioreactors is a good approach for waste water treatment. Although laboratory studies have been performed for microorganism mediated remediation of contaminants at small-scale setups. However, in actual field scenario, with presence of variety of inorganic and organic contaminants, remediation process becomes difficult. Therefore, studies on large-scale setups addressing multiple contaminants are very few. The present chapter focused on the studies describing the usage of suitable biofilters in the bioreactors, their mechanism for effective contaminant disposal and their future real time application in the wastewater treatment facilities.