Abstract
Abstract This study was undertaken to evaluate and compare aerobic biodegradation of petroleum refinery (before API separator) and municipal wastewaters using an automatic laboratory respirometer. Seed activated sludge was acclimated with a small quantity of wastewater under study, in fill and draw type reactors. Relatively high initial substrate to seed biomass ratios of 20 and 15 were used to encourage growth conditions. Each wastewater sample was diluted to five concentrations, and oxygen uptake was recorded till the beginning of the endogenous phase. Oxygen uptake data were analyzed using Monod and Haldane kinetics. Results showed that the refinery wastewater was inhibitory and kinetic data followed only the Haldane equation. However, the municipal wastewater followed Monod kinetics, except when a higher substrate concentration was used. A comparison of the kinetics led to an assessment of relative biodegradability of the wastewaters, which will be useful in understanding the impact of refinery wastewater discharge to municipal wastewater treatment systems.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
