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A new bioseed for determination of wastewater biodegradability: analysis of the experimental procedure

  • Biodegradability assessment of organic substances and polymers
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Abstract

A new bioassay proposed in the patent P201300029 was applied to a pre-treated wastewater containing a mixture of commercial pesticides to simulate a recalcitrant industrial wastewater in order to determine its biodegradability. The test uses a mixture of standardized inoculum of the lyophilized bacteria Pseudomonas putida with the proper proportion of salts and minerals. The results highlight that biodegradation efficiency can be calculated using a gross parameter (chemical oxygen demand (COD)) which facilitates the biodegradability determination for routine water biodegradability analysis. The same trend was observed throughout the assay with the dehydrated and fresh inoculums, and only a difference of 5 % in biodegradation efficiency (E f) was observed. The obtained results showed that the P. putida biodegradability assay can be used as a commercial test with a lyophilized inoculum in order to monitor the ready biodegradability of an organic pollutant or a WWTP influent. Moreover, a combination of the BOD5/COD ratio and the P. putida biodegradability test is an attractive alternative in order to evaluate the biodegradability enhancement in water pre-treated with advanced oxidation processes (AOPs).

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Consejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Regional Government) (FOTOMEM project, P08-RNM-03772). Elisabet Ortega Gómez would like to acknowledge Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for her F.P.I. scholarship (Ref: BES-2011-043886).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University of Pablo de Olavide, 41013, Seville, Spain

    M. M. Ballesteros Martín

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Almería, 04120, Almería, Spain

    B. Esteban García, E. Ortega-Gómez & J. A. Sánchez Pérez

  3. CIESOL, Joint Centre of the University of Almería–CIEMAT, 04120, Almería, Spain

    M. M. Ballesteros Martín, B. Esteban García, E. Ortega-Gómez & J. A. Sánchez Pérez

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  1. M. M. Ballesteros Martín
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  2. B. Esteban García
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  3. E. Ortega-Gómez
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  4. J. A. Sánchez Pérez
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Correspondence to M. M. Ballesteros Martín.

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Responsible editor: Robert Duran

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Ballesteros Martín, M.M., Esteban García, B., Ortega-Gómez, E. et al. A new bioseed for determination of wastewater biodegradability: analysis of the experimental procedure. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 9522–9528 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2227-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-2227-3

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