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Vetiver plantlets in aerated system degrade phenol in illegally dumped industrial wastewater by phytochemical and rhizomicrobial degradation

  • Young Scholars in Earth & Environmental Sciences
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Abstract

This research evaluated the feasibility of using vetiver plantlets (Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash) on a floating platform with aeration to degrade phenol (500 mg/L) in illegally dumped industrial wastewater (IDIWW). The IDIWW sample was from the most infamous illegal dumping site at Nong Nae subdistrict, Phanom Sarakham district, Chachoengsao province, Thailand. Laboratory results suggested that phenol degradation by vetiver involves two phases: Phase I, phytopolymerization and phyto-oxidation assisted by root-produced peroxide (H2O2) and peroxidase (POD), followed by phase II, a combination of phase I with enhanced rhizomicrobial degradation. The first 360–400 h of phenol degradation were dominated by phytopolymerization and phyto-oxidation yielding particulate polyphenols (PPP) or particulate organic matter (POM) as by-products, while phenol decreased to around 145 mg/L. In Phase II, synergistically, rhizomicrobial growth was ∼100-folds greater on the roots of the vetiver plantlets than in the IDIWW and participated in the microbial degradation of phenol at this lower phenol concentration, increasing the phenol degradation rate by more than three folds. This combination of phytochemical and rhizomicrobiological processes eliminated phenol in IDIWW in less than 766 h (32 days), while without the vetiver plantlets, phenol degradation by aerated microbial degradation alone may require 235 days. To our knowledge, this is the first that systematically reveals the complete phenol degradation mechanism by vetiver plantlets in real aerated wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board through Naresuan University (Grant nos. R2558A092, R2557A057, and R2555B098). We are deeply thankful for excellent advice and continuous support from our expert consultants, including Dr. Weerachai Nanakorn, Ms. Suwanna Pasiri, and Dr. Pittayakorn Limthong. We deeply appreciate the trust from the Nong Nae community who welcomed our research team like a family. We appreciate Chachoengsao Development Station, Land Development Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand, for supporting vetiver grass for our research. Last but not least, we value the King of Thailand Vetiver Award (2015) and The Vetiver Network International (TVNI) Award (2015) granted to this research by the Chaipattana Foundation (Thailand) and the TVNI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit for Integrated Natural Resources Remediation and Reclamation (IN3R), Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand

    Tanapon Phenrat & Pimpawat Teeratitayangkul

  2. Center of Excellence for Sustainability of Health, Environment and Industry (SHEI), Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand

    Tanapon Phenrat, Pimpawat Teeratitayangkul & Siriwan Wichai

  3. Chemical Engineering Program, Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, 65000, Thailand

    Isarawut Prasertsung

  4. Excellent Center for Road and Railway Innovation (NURRI), Faculty of Engineering, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand

    Rattapoohm Parichatprecha

  5. Department of Civil Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

    Peerapong Jitsangiam

  6. Office of the Royal Development Projects Boards, Bangkok, Thailand

    Narong Chomchalow

  7. Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Medical Science, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, Thailand

    Siriwan Wichai

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  1. Tanapon Phenrat
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Correspondence to Tanapon Phenrat or Siriwan Wichai.

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Phenrat, T., Teeratitayangkul, P., Prasertsung, I. et al. Vetiver plantlets in aerated system degrade phenol in illegally dumped industrial wastewater by phytochemical and rhizomicrobial degradation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 13235–13246 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7707-9

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