Study of capability of nanostructured zero-valent iron and graphene oxide for bioremoval of trinitrophenol from wastewater in a bubble column bioreactor

Background: Bioremoval of phenolic compounds using fungi and bacteria has been studied extensively; nevertheless, trinitrophenol bioremediation using modified Oscillatoria cyanobacteria has been barely studied in the literature. Results: Among the effective parameters of bioremediation, algal concentration (3.18 g.L-1), trinitrophenol concentration (1301 mg.L-1), and reaction time (3.75 d) were screened by statistical analysis. Oscillatoria cyanobacteria were modified by starch/nZVI and starch/graphene oxide in a bubble column bioreactor, and their bioremoval efficiency was investigated. Modifiers, namely, starch/zero-valent iron and starch/GO, increased trinitrophenol bioremoval efficiency by more than 10% and 12%, respectively, as compared to the use of Oscillatoria cyanobacteria alone. Conclusions: It was found that starch/nano zero-valent iron and starch/GO could be applied to improve the removal rate of phenolic compounds from the aqueous solution. (C) 2019 Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.