Tannery wastewater characterization and toxicity effects on Daphnia spp.

Abstract

Tannery wastewater contains large quantities of organic and inorganic compounds, including toxic substances such as sulfides and chromium salts. The evaluation of wastewater quality in Chile nowadays is based on chemical specific measurements and toxicity tests. The goal of this research was to characterize tannery wastewater and to relate its physical/chemical parameters with its acute toxicity effect on Daphnia pulex. To distinguish the most important toxic compounds, physical/chemical techniques were applied to a grab sample of a final effluent based on the Phase I toxicity identification evaluation (TIE) procedure. In addition, the toxicity of a beamhouse effluent after an activated sludge reactor treatment was investigated on Daphnia magna (introduced species) and D. pulex (native species). Effluent from different tannery processes (soaking, beamhouse, tanning and final) demonstrated high values of chemical organic demand (COD; 2840-27,600 mg L(-1)), chloride (1813-16,500 mg L(-1)), sulfate (230-35,200 mg L(-1)), and total solids (8600-87,100 mg L(-1)). All effluents showed extremely toxic effects on D. pulex, with 24-h mean lethal values (LC(50)) ranging from 0.36% to 3.61%. The Phase I TIE profile showed that toxicity was significantly reduced by air stripping, filtration, and a cationic exchange resin, with toxicity reductions ranging between 46% and 76%. The aerobically treated beamhouse effluent showed significantly less toxicity for both species (43%-74%). The chemical parameters demonstrated that the remaining toxicity of the treated beamhouse effluent was associated with its ammonia (120 mg N-NH(3) L(-1)) and chloride (11,300 mg Cl(-) L(-1)) contents.

Removal of Cr(VI) and Toxic Ions from Aqueous Solutions and Tannery Wastewater Using Polymer-Clay Composites

“…Tannery wastewater contains large amounts of pollutants including sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, toxic metallic compounds of chromium, and various other organic and inorganic compounds [1][2][3][4]. The tanning industries discharge their effluents into nearby lands or rivers, damaging the environmental compartments and thus causing serious harm to human health [2,4,5].…”

Sensitivity Study Comparing Daphnia obtusa (Kurz 1874) and Daphnia magna (Straus 1820) Exposure to Treated Kraft Mill Effluents, Diethylstilbestrol, and Androstenedione

“…Cosmopolitan Daphnia magna (Straus 1820) is widely used as an indicator for freshwater evaluation (Cooman et al 2003;Xavier et al 2005;Reyes et al 2009), although Daphnia obtusa (Kurz 1874) is the principal species that survives in many aquatic ecosystems, including the Chilean ecosystem. Previous evidence for chronic activity, such as comparative study of the sensitivity for D. magna and D. obtusa, show the effect of exposure to inorganic and organic compounds.…”

The effect of electron acceptors on biogas production from tannery sludge of a Mexican wastewater plant

“…This sludge showed higher amount of iron and lower Tchobanoglous et al 2003). Also, nitrogen content was lower than data published for digested sludge from a conventional wastewater treatment plant (Tchobanoglous et al 2003), but higher than found in the tannery effluent composition (Cooman et al 2003). Reported total dry solids are lesser compared with those present in the sludge (between 76 and 98 % lower).…”