Treatment of hypersaline-containing wastewater with salt-tolerant microorganisms

Two salt-tolerant bacteria were isolated from soil samples to treat a high-salt-content wastewater from a pickled plum production plant. The strains, which were identified as Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus cereus grew well in a medium containing 0 to 15% NaCl. When wastewater in a flash was treated with the strains for 72 h, the COD removal was about 70%, and this was increased to about 90% when they were used in a pilot plant (working volume 1 m3) in a batch culture carried out for 7 d. The Staphylococcus sp. and Bacillus cereus strains occupied almost all of the pilot plant, in which they were present in a ratio of 3 : 1 (at 23-27 degreesC).