Refinery wastewater treatment was performed using a novel submerged tubular ceramic membrane bioreactor (STMBR) with the oleaginous hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium Rhodococcus opacus. A membrane‐based flux study with the STMBR was carried out to assess the performance of the tubular ceramic membrane. Continuous experiments with the STMBR achieved a maximum chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal of 84 %, with an average flux of 0.4 × 10−3 m3m−2s−1. To further enhance the COD removal efficiency, two STMBR were operated under the optimum conditions. Complete COD removal along with 2.98 g L−1 biomass growth was achieved during two‐stage STMBR operation. Furthermore, a toxicity assessment of the permeate water established its reuse potential.
Owing to the high demand of petroleum and petrochemical products, refineries, among the many industries that are set up worldwide, are of special importance. Wastewater generated from such industrial activities, however, contains toxic compounds that are of environmental concern. Due to the presence of highly recalcitrant organics present in refinery wastewater, treatment prior to its discharge into the environment and water bodies in order to meet certain acceptable discharge limits is imperative. Petroleum refineries unavoidably discharge a large volume of wastewater mainly with high chemical oxygen demand (COD). Low‐cost biological wastewater treatment methods are reported to show excellent COD removal efficiency from wastewater but have their own drawbacks. Hence, advanced integrated approaches are of new interest in this field. This review focuses on emerging technologies, in particular bioreactor configurations for petroleum wastewater treatment. It further discusses some future perspective in hybrid/integrated systems for treating PRWW.
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