Grantee Research Project Results

2001 Progress Report: Biosurfactant Produced from Used Vegetable Oil for removal of Metals From Wastewaters and Soils

EPA Grant Number: R828598C787
Subproject: this is subproject number 787 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R828598
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Texas - Indiana Virtual STAR Center
Center Director: Gustafsson , Jan-Ake
Title: Biosurfactant Produced from Used Vegetable Oil for removal of Metals From Wastewaters and Soils
Investigators: Vipulanandan, C. , Mohanty, Kishore K.
Institution: University of Houston - University Park
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: September 1, 2000 through August 31, 2004
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2000 through August 31, 2001
RFA: Gulf Coast Hazardous Substance Research Center (Lamar University) (1996) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Targeted Research

Objective:

The objective of this study is to determine the UH-biosurfactant selectivity for metals, both singly and in mixtures, as well as to investigate the biosurfactant-facilitated desorption of metals from soils and transport of heavy metals through soils. Also of interest is to recover the complexed/precipitated metal and recycling of the UH-biosurfactant.. The performance will be compared to SDS and Triton X-100. Specific objectives are as follows:

(1)Surfactant Characterization: Determine the surface tension in terms of surfactant concentration. Effect of pH, salt content, and temperature on surfactant behavior. (PHASE 1)

(2)Complexation (metal) and Sorption (soil): Interaction of biosurfactant with various metals (single components) will be quantified (partition coefficient) based on the micelle size and pH. Sorption isotherms for biosurfactant and metals with various soil constituents (sand, clay, organic matter) will be developed. (PHASE 2)

(3)Removal of Metals: Evaluate the potential of using the UH-biosurfactant for removing trace metals from wastewater (mixture of metals) and metal contaminated soils. Optimization of application conditions. (PHASE 3)

(4)Recover and Recycle: Methods of recovering the metals from the biosurfactant complexes/precipitation will be investigated. Also, methods to recycle and reuse the biosurfactant will be investigated and a comparative cost analysis will be done on using the biosurfactant and chemical surfactants to remove metals. (PHASE 4)

Successful completion of the work proposed herein will result in several significant contributions. Some of the expected contributions include:

(1) information on the ability and selectivity of UH-biosurfactant (produced from used vegetable oil) to bind metals under such environmental conditions as pH and ionic strength and soil type,

(2) details on the potential of biosurfactant to transport heavy metals through soil and

(3) methods of recovering the metals and recycling the biosurfactant for further use.

Progress Summary:

The research work was started in September, 2001 and some of the test results obtained during the past eight months of the investigation are reported. The main focus during this period of study was to produce and characterize the UH-biosurfactant for metal removal application (PHASE 1). Wastewaters with Pb, Cr (VI), Cu, Fe, Si and Al were used in the initial investigation. (a) Production and Characterization of Biosurfactant: Biosurfactant has been successfully produced from used vegetable oil (domestic and restaurant waste) under technically-simple non-aseptic conditions using Pseudomonas sp. in continuously stirred batch reactors. The broth (mixture of used vegetable oil, microorganism and mineral medium) was filtered and the filtrate was mixed with a sodium hydroxide solution to precipitate out the biosurfactant. The precipitate was dried and the powder was used in all the testing. This approach of producing biosurfactant will result in lower material and processing cost and make UH-biosurfactant attractive for large scale applications. UH-Biosurfactant had a surface tension of 29 dynes/cm with a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 0.7 g/L. Compared to the commercially available surfactants, UH-biosurfactant had lower surface tension at CMC. Of the surfactants tested (SDS, Triton X-100), the UH-biosurfactant showed the greatest change in the surface tension in the pH range tested. The Triton X-100 showed the least dependency on the pH. (b) Pb Removal from Wastewater: Lead removal from Pb(NO3)2 solutions was investigated using the surfactants. The lead concentration in the solution was measured, before and after the addition of surfactants, by using the AA method (AWWA Method 3500-Pb). The biosurfactant formed an off-white colored precipitate with lead ions. The precipitate was easily removed by filtration through a 0.45 mm Millipore filter. At 2 g/L and 10 g/L concentrations of biosurfactatant over 70 and 90% of Pb were removed from the solution respectively. The performance of the UH-biosurfactant was better than sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and Triton X-100. The study will be continued with higher concentrations of Pb(NO3)2 solutions. (c) Cr(VI) Removal from Wastewater: Chromium removal from potassium chromate (K2CrO4) solution was investigated using the surfactants. The Cr(VI) concentration in the solution was measured, before and after the addition of surfactants, by using the AA method (AWWA Method 3500-Cr). The surfactant - chromate solution was first filtered through a 0.45 mm Millipore filter and then analyzed for Cr(VI). Both, biosurfactant and Triton X-100 had similar removal efficiency of over 50%. SDS showed less than 40% removal . Also the removal efficiency was independent of the surfactant concentration. The study will be continued with higher concentrations of chromate solutions. (d) Cu(II) Removal from Wastewater: Copper removal from copper sulfate (CuSO4) solution was investigated using the surfactants. The Cu(II) concentration in the solution was measured, before and after the addition of surfactants, by using the AA method (AWWA Method 3500-Cu). The surfactant - copper sulfate solution was first filtered through a 0.45 mm Millipore filter and then analyzed for Cr(VI). The Triton X-100 had the highest removal efficiency of 35%. Biosurfactant removal efficiency was about 15% and reduced with increased surfactant concentration. While Triton X-100 removal efficiency was independent of the surfactant concentration, for the other two surfactants the removal efficiency reduced with increased surfactant concentration. Studies are underway with higher concentrations of copper sulfate solutions. (e) Fe(III) Removal from Wastewater: Iron removal from ferric nitrate (Fe(NO3)3) solution was investigated using the surfactants. The Fe(III) concentration in the solution was measured, before and after the addition of surfactants, by using the AA method (AWWA Method 3500-Fe). The surfactant - iron nitrate solution (100 mg/L) was first filtered through a 0.45 mm Millipore filter and then analyzed for Fe. Biosurfactant removal efficiency increased with biosurfactant concentration to 100% at 10 CMC. Studies are underway with lower concentrations of iron nitrate solutions. (f) Al Removal from Wastewater: Aluminum removal from aluminum chloride (AlCl3) solution was investigated using the surfactants. The Al(III) concentration in the solution was measured, before and after the addition of surfactants, by using the AA method (AWWA Method 3500-Al). The surfactant - iron nitrate solution (100 mg/L) was first filtered through a 0.45 mm Millipore filter and then analyzed for Al. Biosurfactant removal efficiency increased with biosurfactant concentration to 30% at 10 CMC. Studies are underway with lower concentrations of iron nitrate solutions. (g) Si Removal from Wastewater: Silica removal from sodium silicate solution was investigated using the surfactants. The Si(IV) concentration in the solution was measured, before and after the addition of surfactants, by using the AA method (AWWA Method 3500-Si). The surfactant - silicate solution (100 mg/L) was first filtered through a 0.45 mm Millipore filter and then analyzed for Al. Biosurfactant removal efficiency increased with biosurfactant concentration to 20% at 10 CMC. Studies are underway with lower concentrations of silica nitrate solutions. Summary: Properties of the biosurfactant have been determined under various application conditions. UH-biosurfactant had the lowest surface tension above the CMC of the surfactants investigated. UH-biosurfactant had the best Pb(II) removal efficiency of the three surfactants studied (>90%). UH-biosurfactant removal efficiency of Cr(VI) was comparable to Triton X-100 (>50%). UH-biosurfactant removal efficiency for Fe (III), Cu(II) Al and Si were 100, 15 30% and 20% respectively.

Future Activities:

The experimental program will be continued to achieve the stated objectives. Some of the test variables to be investigated are summarized in Table 1. Single metal concentrations up to 500 mg/L will be investigated. Metal mixtures will also be studied and the concentrations will selected based on literature review and initial test results. Every effort will be made to investigate the various metal removal mechanisms with the surfactants. Table 1. Summary of Possible Materials and Applications Parameters Soil/ Waste Materials Materials Metals: Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr, Zn, mixtures Soils: Sand, clay, organic matter, mixtures Surfactants Biosurfactant (produced at UH from used vegetable oil) SDS and Triton X-100 (for comparison purposes) Applications Metal complexation/precipitation in wastewater Removal of metals from soils Recovery/recycle technology Second Year: The study will be focused on determining the partition coefficients, adsorption/desorption isotherms for surfactants and metals with various soil types will be determined (PHASE 2). Also methods of recovering the metals and surfactants will be investigated (PHASE 4). Number of Tests and Summary: It is expected that more than 60 batch tests will be performed to quantify the partition coefficient and isotherms. Limited tests are also planned with SDS and Triton X-100 for comparison. Over 24 tests are planned for recovering the metals and UH-biosurfactant. Third Year: Based on the test results two metals will be selected for the column study. Two metal concentrations will be studied. Both batch and column studies will be determined. Cost for producing and using biosurfactant to remove metals will be determined; the cost will be compared to the performance of the chemical surfactant. (PHASE 3). Number of Tests and Summary: It is expected that more than 20 batch and column tests will be performed to quantify the effectiveness of the UH-biosurfactant.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 2 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

Biosurfactant, metal removal, wastewater, contaminated soils., RFA, Scientific Discipline, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Waste, Water, Hazardous, Remediation, Ecological Risk Assessment, Waste Treatment, Environmental Chemistry, Contaminated Sediments, Hazardous Waste, Treatment Technologies, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, hazadous waste streams, cleanup, treatment, sediment treatment, contaminated sediment, hazardous waste management, hazardous waste treatment, heavy metals transport, risk assessment, vegetable oil based surfactant, metal release, remediation technologies, in situ washing, soil washing, hazardous waste characterization, advanced treatment technologies

Relevant Websites:

http://gem1.cive.uh.edu Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2002

2003

Final Report

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R828598    Texas - Indiana Virtual STAR Center

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
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