Adaptation of an Activated Sludge Process to the Treatment of Coke-Plant Wastewater Containing High Levels of Cyanide

摘要

Cyanide occurs in the wastewater of a variety of industries, particularly those involved in steel production, metal plating, coal gasification and in the manufacture of chemicals, plastics and pharmaceuticals. Because of its toxicity, cyanide is generally removed from wastewaters by chemical and physical methods, including alkaline chlorination, complexation and acidification, prior to biological treatment. It is now apparent that in some cases wastewater containing cyanide can be treated using conventional biological processes. One major goal of this research was to determine whether a microbial population treating coke-plant wastewater could be adapted to treat high levels of cyanide influent. A second major goal was to determine what measurable differences exist after adaptation between a population receiving high levels of influent cyanide and one receiving low levels. Methods of comparison included oxygen utilization and viable plate counts in the presence of cyanide, as well as measurements of nitrification and phenol removal in the presence of cyanide. The final goal of this research was to determine some of the characteristics of the organisms responsible for cyanide degradation in the coke-plant wastewater treatment environment.