Biodegradação de benzeno por <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> em águas de rejeitos industriais e de osmose reversa; validação do sistema com grãos de kefir e Kalanchoe pinnata como indicadores biológicos (OU) Bioprocessos e bioindicadores de tratamento e monitoramento de águas: desenvolvimento e aplicações

Abstract

Currently, poor quality water continues to pose a major threat to human health, causing serious illnesses such as diarrhea and various types of cancer due to the ingestion of aromatic compounds and heavy metals. It is estimated that 88% of these diseases' cases are caused by unsafe water supply, sanitation and hygiene. This is largely due to poor quality control of treated water. Thus, currently, one of the major concerns in establishing water quality indicators, whether on a biological basis or through physical-chemical and mathematical methods, is to make routine ecological assessments applicable to non-specialized personnel. The present paper, aiming to offer society subsidies for the adoption of alternative technologies for treating and monitoring water quality, carried out an analysis on the potentials of kefir grains and the kalanchoe pinnata plant as bioindicators of the quality of water treated by means of Bioremediation with the microorganism Bacillus subtilis and treated water in the UPIBA. The experiments' results showed that the kefir grains generated different biological responses when submitted to different concentrations of benzene, present in bioremediated waters with B. subtilis. And trials applying K. pinnata as a bioindicator of rainwater quality and SABESP, have suggested that it may be an excellent bioindicator in eutrophic waters, that is, rich in organic matter.