Assessment of electrocoagulation for the treatment of petroleum refinery wastewater.

Batch electrocoagulation experiments were carried out to evaluate the removal of sulfate and COD from petroleum refinery wastewater using three types of electrodes: aluminum, stainless steel, and iron. The effects of current density, electrode arrangement, electrolysis time, initial pH, and temperature were investigated for two wastewater samples with different concentrations of COD and sulfate. The experimental results indicated that the utilization of aluminum, as anode and cathode, was by far the most efficient arrangement in the reduction of both the contaminants.

Biodegradation of phenol by Pseudomonas putida immobilized in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel.

Batch experiments were carried out to evaluate the biodegradation of phenol by Pseudomonas putida immobilized in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel pellets in a bubble column bioreactor at different conditions. The bacteria were activated and gradually acclimatized to high concentrations of phenol of up to 300 mg/l. The experimental results indicated that the biodegradation capabilities of P.