Monday, April 30, 2007
3-16

The use of ligno-cellulosic materials for the biological treatment of metal-contaminated waters under sulphate-reducing conditions

Márcia M. M. Goncalves1, Luiz A. de O. Mello2, and Antonio Carlos A. Da Costa1. (1) Departamento de Tecnologia de Processos Bioquímicos, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, R. S. Francisco Xavier 524, PHLC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (2) Programa de Pós Graduação em Engenharia Química, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, R. S. Francisco Xavier 524, PHLC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

When wetlands reach maximum treatment capacity to remove heavy metals, removal can still take place through precipitation as sulphides, due to biological reduction of sulphate. To achieve this goal, anaerobic conditions must be attained, a sulphate source must exist, and an adequate carbon/energy source. In the present work, the seaweed Sargassum filipendula. and sugarcane bagasse have been selected as carbon sources, due to their high content of slow degradation organic compounds and high availability as waste materials. Experiments were simultaneously conducted in continuous operation in two columns (0.5 l each), one containing the seaweed and/or sugarcane bagasse and another containing the materials inoculated with an anaerobic sludge. In this work, the removal of cadmium and zinc was studied, due to their presence in effluents from mining/metallurgy operations. Results obtained indicated that the inoculated reactor was able to treat the effluent more efficiently than the non inoculated reactor, considering the time-course of the tests.

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