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BIOTRANSFORMATION OF PRIORITY POLLUTANTS USING BIOFILMS AND VASCULAR PLANTS
Citation:
Wolverton, B. AND R. McDonald-McCaleb. BIOTRANSFORMATION OF PRIORITY POLLUTANTS USING BIOFILMS AND VASCULAR PLANTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-86/310.
Description:
Microbial filters with and without reeds (Phragmites communis) were used to degrade aromatic and aliphatic organics on the EPA priority pollutant list. The initial concentrations of the organics were in the range of 400-1000 micrograms/l. The contaminated river water was treated under batch conditions. The river water contained sufficient dissolved oxygen to sustain aerobic conditions. The plant-free microbial filter effected the removal of 61.99% of the aromatic compounds in 24 hours and 39-81% of the aliphatics. The reed/microbial filter system improved the removal rates to 81->99% for the aromatics and 49-93% for the aliphatics in 24 hours.