Published
2018-12-18

How to Cite

Meneses Barroso, Y. M., Patiño Mantilla, P. A., & Betancur Perez, J. F. (2018). Removal of chromium in industrial wastewater using biomass of Spirulina sp, primary sedimentation and chemical precipitation. Revista De Investigación Agraria Y Ambiental, 10(1), 141-152. https://doi.org/10.22490/21456453.2326
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Removal of chromium in industrial wastewater using biomass of Spirulina sp, primary sedimentation and chemical precipitation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22490/21456453.2326
Section
Artículos de Investigación
Yeni Maritza Meneses Barroso Universidad de Manizales
Paula Andrea Patiño Mantilla Universidad de Manizales
Jhon Fredy Betancur Perez Universidad de Manizales https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5979-1498

Chromium is a heavy metal widely used at an industrial level and commonly discharged directly into water sources, which leads to their deterioration. Therefore, this research seeks to verify the removal of chromium exerted by physical, chemical and biological treatment in industrial wastewater, in order to determine which alternative is more sustainable.

With this aim, three reactors with industrial wastewater from a company in the metal-mechanic sector were tested; Chromium removal was initially evaluated by primary sedimentation achieving 16% removals; subsequently, the effect carried out by chemical precipitation with aluminum sulfate and calcium oxide was verified. Finally, the bio-absorption capacity of the microalga Spirulina sp was evaluated using living and dead biomass within 24 and 96 hours. Results show that there are mechanisms with easy implementation to avoid direct dumping. It was also found that the chemical treatment reduces chromium to values lower than 0.1 mg/l, with removals of 99%, however, it generates more than 30% of sludge and does not help to separate the metal. With the use of biomass, removals of up to 96.5% were achieved in the first 24 hours and a final chromium value of 1.02 mg/l, with the advantage that this method generates less than 10% of sludge and allows the recovery of chromium for its later use. Therefore, the implementation of a physical-biological treatment is recommended, since it allows improving the sustainability of the process.