Biodegradation of the oil hydrocarbons in wastewater with immobilized microbiological activated carbon

On the basis of laboratory-scale-tests, the method of using immobilized biological activated carbon (IBAC) was found to be an efficient method to treat oil wastewater. In this research, pilot-scale studies were conducted to investigate the optimal range of factors, such as oil concentration, and hydraulic retention time (HRT). 39 strains of bacteria were isolated from activated sludge of a petrochemical wastewater treatment plant. After being acclimated and identified, these bacteria were immobilized on granular activated carbon. The degradation of organic compounds was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectromtry (GC-MS). As the results show that when the oil concentration is lower than 50 mg/L and corresponding values of HRT are longer than 1.0 h, the removal rate of immobilized biological activated carbon column can stably reach at least 70%. In the field studies, electron microscope analyses show that the predominant bacteria have been changed from Pseudomonas and Bacillus at the beginning to Bacillus only after 60 days of continuous operation, which suggests that the method with immobilized biological activated carbon column is the one with higher efficiency than that of the secondary floatation tank traditionally used in oil wastewater treatment.