Kinetic study for aerobic treatment of phenolic wastewater

Conventional physico-chemical treatment of industrial wastewater containing compounds such as phenol encounters difficulties due to low substrate level, additional use of chemicals, and generation of hazardous by products along with increased process cost. Biological treatment appears to be a solution for treatment of such industrial wastewater. In the present study an aerobic sequential batch reactor (SBR) has been used for treatment of synthetic wastewater containing phenol. The effects of increasing phenol concentrations on the sludge characteristic have been also investigated. It was observed that, activity of activated sludge for acclimatization of phenol decreases at concentrations above 2000 mg L−1. It may be attributed to toxicity of phenol to active biomass at higher concentrations. Kinetics of phenol degradation has also been studied using Haldane model.