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Industrial Selenium Pollution: Sources and Biological Treatment Technologies

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Bioremediation of Selenium Contaminated Wastewater

Abstract

Selenium (Se) discharge into the environment is becoming a matter of increasing concern because it induces toxic effects to biota at low concentrations (several micrograms per liter). Industrial activities that include energy generation, metal and oil refining, mining, and agriculture irrigation generate effluents contaminated with selenium. Biological treatment of these effluents is gaining in popularity in recent years. Microbial reduction of selenium oxyanions to particulate elemental Se0 can be achieved in a number of bioreactor systems that are emerging as a viable bioremediation option because of their favorable cost, footprint, and treatment efficiency. Traditionally, granular sludge bioreactors (e.g., upflow anaerobic sludge blanket, UASB) have been tested for the treatment of selenium-laden wastewaters. Fluidized-bed bioreactors (FBBR) and packed-bed bioreactor systems were later adapted for Se treatment. The hydrogen-based hollow-fiber membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) is a technology that delivers H2 gas as the electron donor by diffusion to the biofilm formed on non-porous hollow-fiber membranes. A hybrid electro-biochemical reactor (EBR) which uses electrons that are delivered from an external power source through electrodes to selenium-reducing bacteria growing on electrodes has been developed. Constructed wetlands may be useful when the wastewater is produced in large volumes, but they are sensitive to temperature fluctuations and seasonal variation of the vegetation, and they have a large footprint. If Se0 colloids are not captured efficiently within the bioreactor, a challenge is removing colloidal Se0 from the effluent. When properly recovered, Se0 can be a valuable product due to its photo-optical, semiconductive, and adsorptive properties.

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Abbreviations

ABMet® :

Advanced biological metals removal

BOD:

Biochemical oxygen demand

COD:

Chemical oxygen demand

DIET:

Direct interspecies electron transfer

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

EBCT:

Empty bed contact time

EBR:

Electro-biochemical reactor

FGD:

Flue gas desulfurization

FBBR:

Fluidized-bed biofilm reactor

GAC:

Granular activated carbon

HRT:

Hydraulic residence time

MBfR:

Membrane biofilm reactor

NAMC:

North American Metal Council

ORP:

Oxido-reduction potential

Se:

Selenium

Se0 :

Elemental (zero-valent) selenium

SeOx :

Selenium oxyanions (selenite and selenate)

TDS:

Total dissolved solids

TOC:

Total organic carbon

TSS:

Total suspended solids

UASB:

Upflow anaerobic sludge blanket

USEPA:

United States Environmental Protection Agency

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the European Commission for providing financial support through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate Programme ETeCoS3 (Environmental Technologies for Contaminated Solids, Soils and Sediments) under the grant agreement FPA no. 2010-0009. We are grateful to Dr. Joel Citulski and Nelson Fonseca (General Electric Power, Oakville, ON, Canada), Dr. Jack Adams (Inotec, Salt Lake City, UT, USA), Dr. Todd Webster (Envirogen Technologies, Inc., East Windsor, NJ, USA), and Dr. Harry Ohlendorf (CH2 M Hill, Englewood, CO, USA) for their useful comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Lucian C. Staicu

  2. UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611 AX, Delft, The Netherlands

    Eric D. van Hullebusch & Piet N.L. Lens

  3. Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    Bruce E. Rittmann

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  1. Lucian C. Staicu
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Correspondence to Lucian C. Staicu .

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  1. Université Paris-Est, Laboratoire Géomatériaux et Environnement (EA 4508), UPEM, Marne-la-Vallée, France

    Eric D van Hullebusch

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Staicu, L.C., van Hullebusch, E.D., Rittmann, B.E., Lens, P.N. (2017). Industrial Selenium Pollution: Sources and Biological Treatment Technologies . In: van Hullebusch, E. (eds) Bioremediation of Selenium Contaminated Wastewater. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57831-6_4

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