Removal of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners in mixture Delor 103 from wastewater by ozonation vs/and biological method

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) produced in Slovakia as a commercial mixture Delor 103 cause the main contamination of sediment, water and fish in the eastern part of Slovakia. Delor 103 is a mixture of 40% PCB congeners, nine of them: PCB 8 (2,4′-dichlorobiphenyl), PCB 28 (2,4,4′-trichlorobiphenyl), PCB 52 (2,2′,5,5′-tetrachlorobiphenyl), PCB 101 (2,2′,4,5,5′-pentachlorobiphenyl), PCB 118 (2,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl), PCB 138 (2,2′,3,4,4′,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl), PCB 153 (2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobiphenyl), PCB 180 (2,2′,3,4,4′,5,5′-heptachlorobiphenyl), and PCB 203 (2,2′,3,4,4′,5,5′,6-octachlorobiphenyl), were monitored for their removal by ozonation and biodegradation using Achromobacter xylosoxidans. Ozonation improved the removal of PCB 52, 118, 153, 138, 180, and 203 using biological method with A. xylosoxidans. Degradation of 55% of the total amount of nine selected PCB congeners was achieved by the biological method with A. xylosoxidans, while 86% of the total amount of the nine selected PCB congeners were removed by the ozonation method; using a combination of biological and chemical methods, ozonation and A. xylosoxidans, showed a 94% removal efficiency of the selected PCB congeners present in mixture Delor 103.