BATCH TRIALS TO SIMULATE BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT IN LAGOONS OF LEACHATE FROM OIL-SHALE ASH HEAPS
K. ORUPÕLD
Institute of Physical Chemistry
University of Tartu
Tartu, Estonia
A. OHLSSON
T. HENRYSSON
Department of Biotechnology
Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Lund University
Lund, Sweden
| Lagoons can be used for the treatment of many kinds of
waste-waters. This study is focused on the biological treatment of leachate from oil-shale ash
heaps in lagoons. To be able to perform these studies in the laboratory in a reasonable time
the lagooning process was simulated by a batch pro- cess. The influence of a number of parameters, such as temperature, nutrients, aeration and inocu- lation, on the treatment process was investigated. It was shown that the success of the treatment process, measured as removal of organic compounds, was dependent on nutrients and inoculum. It was fully possible to get a successful treatment also at a low temperature, even if the degradation was initially somewhat slower. The best treatment results were achieved with intermittent aeration (1 day aerobic, 6 days anaerobic). In this case the phenolic compounds (phenol, dimethylphenols and cresols) were degraded to below their detection limits (1 mg/l) and the overall degradation of organic compounds was 75 %. |