Treatment of Winery Wastewater with a Combination of Adsorption and Thermocatalytic Processes

The release of winery wastewater (WW) into the environment, without proper treatment, can cause severe problems to freshwater quality and natural fauna and flora. Therefore, in this work a treatment process was studied, combining adsorption and thermocatalytic oxidation processes. In a more specific way, it optimized the combination of activated sodium bentonite (Na-Mt) and potassium persulfate (KPS)/sodium percarbonate (SPC) as oxidant agents. With the combination of best operational conditions of adsorption ([Na-Mt] = 5.0 g/L, pH = 3.0, V = 500 mL, agitation 350 rpm, T = 298 K, t = 24 h) and thermocatalytic oxidation processes (/H2O2 ratio = 1:0.25, /H2O2 dosage = 0.1:0.025 (g/g), pH = 7.0, T = 343 K, agitation 350 rpm, t = 2 h), a total organic carbon, chemical oxygen demand and total polyphenols removal of 76.7, 81.4 and >99% was achieved, respectively. Finally, it was evaluated the effect of the treatment processes in the germination index (GI) of different plant seeds. A GI > 80% was achieved, showing a low phytotoxicity effect of the processes applied in the winery wastewater treatment.

Immobilizing Bacillus subtilis on the carrier of poly (acrylic acid)/sodium bentonite for treating sludge from Pangasius fish ponds

Sodium bentonite (NaBent) was modified by poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) to prepare the carriers for immobilization of Bacillus subtilis. Different mixtures of NaBent/AAc were regularly dispersed in distilled water and irradiated under gamma rays at an absorbed dose of 6.5 kGy with dose rate of 0.85 kGy/hr in air for polymerization of acrylic acid and formation of poly(acrylic acid)/sodium bentonite (PAAc–NaBent). The reaction yield was determined with the initial concentration of acrylic acid (AAc). The functional group properties of the resulting PAAc–NaBent were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectra (FTIR). Bacillus subtilis cells were immobilized on both NaBent and PAAc–NaBent as carriers by adsorption method for treating the sludge contaminated by fish feces and residual feed from the Pangasius farming ponds. The results showed that immobilization capacity of Bacillus subtilis on the PAAc–NaBent was better than that on non-modified NaBent. Analysis of BOD for the farming pond water containing Bacillus subtilis and the bacteria immobilized carriers with time revealed the lower BOD values obtained with the samples containing PAAc–NaBent, suggested that degradation of organic pollutants by Bacillus subtilis immobilized on the PAAc–NaBent was faster than that by free bacteria.

Effect of Bentonite Prehydration Time on the Stability of Lightweight Oil-Well Cement System

Lightweight cement systems are used in the weak intervals of petroleum wells. Sodium bentonite is used as an extender in lightweight oil-well cement systems as it prevents excess water and sedimentation of particles, thereby ensuring the formation of homogenous and stable cement sheaths. The extending ability of sodium bentonite is enhanced when prehydrated. However, the optimum bentonite prehydration time and its effect on the stability of lightweight cement systems have not been well established. The objective of this study is to investigate the optimum sodium bentonite prehydration time and correlate it to the stability of lightweight oil-well cement systems. Bentonite suspensions were prepared by vigorous preshearing at 12000 rpm for 5 minutes, followed by aging times of 0, 30, 60, and 120 minutes. The swelling behavior of bentonite was investigated using a laser particle size analyzer. The Herschel-Bulkley model was used to determine the rheological parameters of the experimentally measured shear stress vs. shear rate data of the aged suspensions. The effect of calcium chloride salt on aged bentonite suspensions was investigated. Density measurements and pore space analysis with the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique were used to investigate the homogeneity of cement-based cores. It was observed that bentonite swells with time and, after 30 minutes, the swelling is insignificant; however, the swelling property did not have any observed impact on the properties of cement systems designed with the bentonite aged at different times. In general, all the lightweight cement slurries exhibited similar properties, in terms of rheology, stability, and homogeneity, regardless of the bentonite prehydration time. These findings indicate that aging bentonite suspension after vigorous preshearing in lightweight cement design is unnecessary and would only contribute to nonproductive time.