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Industrial Selenium Pollution: Sources and Biological Treatment Technologies

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Abstract

Selenium (Se) discharge into the environment is becoming a matter of increasing concern because it induces toxic effects to biota at low concentrations (several micrograms per liter). Industrial activities that include energy generation, metal and oil refining, mining, and agriculture irrigation generate effluents contaminated with selenium. Biological treatment of these effluents is gaining in popularity in recent years. Microbial reduction of selenium oxyanions to particulate elemental Se0 can be achieved in a number of bioreactor systems that are emerging as a viable bioremediation option because of their favorable cost, footprint, and treatment efficiency. Traditionally, granular sludge bioreactors (e.g., upflow anaerobic sludge blanket, UASB) have been tested for the treatment of selenium-laden wastewaters. Fluidized-bed bioreactors (FBBR) and packed-bed bioreactor systems were later adapted for Se treatment. The hydrogen-based hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is a technology that delivers H2 gas as the electron donor by diffusion to the biofilm formed on non-porous hollow-fiber membranes. A hybrid electro-biochemical reactor (EBR) which uses electrons that are delivered from an external power source through electrodes to selenium-reducing bacteria growing on electrodes has been developed. Constructed wetlands may be useful when the wastewater is produced in large volumes, but they are sensitive to temperature fluctuations and seasonal variation of the vegetation, and they have a large footprint. If Se0 colloids are not captured efficiently within the bioreactor, a challenge is removing colloidal Se0 from the effluent. When properly recovered, Se0 can be a valuable product due to its photo-optical, semiconductive, and adsorptive properties.

Keywords

Selenium Wastewater Biotreatment Bioremediation Toxicity 

List of abbreviations

ABMet®

Advanced biological metals removal

BOD

Biochemical oxygen demand

COD

Chemical oxygen demand

DIET

Direct interspecies electron transfer

DO

Dissolved oxygen

EBCT

Empty bed contact time

EBR

Electro-biochemical reactor

FGD

Flue gas desulfurization

FBBR

Fluidized-bed biofilm reactor

GAC

Granular activated carbon

HRT

Hydraulic residence time

MBfR

Membrane biofilm reactor

NAMC

North American Metal Council

ORP

Oxido-reduction potential

Se

Selenium

Se0

Elemental (zero-valent) selenium

SeOx

Selenium oxyanions (selenite and selenate)

TDS

Total dissolved solids

TOC

Total organic carbon

TSS

Total suspended solids

UASB

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket

USEPA

United States Environmental Protection Agency

WHO

World Health Organization

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Notes

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the European Commission for providing financial support through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Programme ETeCoS3 (Environmental Technologies for Contaminated Solids, Soils and Sediments) under the grant agreement FPA no. 2010-0009. We are grateful to Dr. Joel Citulski and Nelson Fonseca (General Electric Power, Oakville, ON, Canada), Dr. Jack Adams (Inotec, Salt Lake City, UT, USA), Dr. Todd Webster (Envirogen Technologies, Inc., East Windsor, NJ, USA), and Dr. Harry Ohlendorf (CH2 M Hill, Englewood, CO, USA) for their useful comments on the manuscript.

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© Springer International Publishing AG 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials ScienceUniversity Politehnica of BucharestBucharestRomania
  2. 2.UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water EducationDelftThe Netherlands
  3. 3.Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign InstituteArizona State UniversityTempeUSA

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