The present invention relates to a process for refinery wastewater treatment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an automated process for treatment of refinery wastewater. The process of the present invention provides complete automation for controlling different critical parameters that enhance biological activity of activated sludge process (ASP) and helps in significant reduction in sludge recycling that increases the treatment efficiency.

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method for the biological cleaning of wastewater in an activated-sludge plant including at least one activated-sludge tank, the method including: contacting, in the plant, the wastewater with activated sludge in the activated-sludge tank so as to clean the wastewater; and after the cleaning of the wastewater, separating, in the plant, the suspended activated sludge from the cleaned wastewater by sedimentation in a secondary clarification tank downstream of the activated-sludge tank or in the activated-sludge tank. The activated sludge suspended in the wastewater is admixed with growth bodies in the activated-sludge tank in order to contact the growth bodies with the microorganisms present in the activated sludge and to bring about formation of a biofilm of microorganisms on the growth bodies.

A process in which a waste stream containing microbes and organic constituents is passed through a process environment comprising a solid media, microbes, and higher animals, such that some of the microbes and/or organic constituents within the waste stream are removed from the waste stream and some of the removed microbes are destroyed or consumed by the higher animals. The process environment may include an irrigated environment, a submerged environment, or a combined environment.

A method for establishing a wastewater bioreactor environment including the step of introducing a modified polydimethylsilaxone fiber to a bioreactor tank of a membrane aerated bioreactor.

An aerobic treatment system includes a plurality of highly porous, high surface area, inert, synthetic, inorganic, or natural material particles, having a specific gravity of less than 1.0 that float on an enclosed aqueous environment whereby plants and/or microbes can be grown thereon and/or animals such as fish can be raised therein. The inert particles trap air bubbles and nutrients for the growth of diverse types of plants, animals, or microbial systems, which enable phyto treatment of an aqueous waterbody with the ability to limit the growth of unwanted plant and algae such as blue-green algae. The above aerobic bio treatment system contains desirably bioremediation media having one or more microorganisms that are able to withstand system shocks while minimizing energy usage associated with aeration. The system can generally be utilized in any aqueous environment such as waste water and/or polluted water in an enclosed area such as a container, tank, pond, lake, or the like.

A treatment process for municipal, commercial, industrial, and institutional fluids containing one or more substances at a first concentration includes a contactor, an aerator, and a separator. The fluid is mixed with a powdered natural lignocellulosic material (PNLM), a microbial growth inoculum, and at least a portion of the fluid in the contactor to provide a mixture that includes an established, acclimated microbial growth in the fluid. The mixture is introduced to an aerator where physical binding and chemical bonding of at least some of the one or more substances to the PNLM additionally physiological uptake by microbial growth in a biosludge reduces the concentration of at least some of the one or more substances in the fluid discharged from the aerator to a second concentration. The biosludge is separated to recover at least a portion of the PNLM that is recycled to the contactor.

The aspects of embodiments of the invention relate to advanced bioelectrochemical systems. More specifically, the invention relates to the utilization of a power source such as, but not limited to, photo-active, semiconducting materials, batteries, or the like integrated with bioelectrochemical systems perhaps to increase oxidation and/or reduction reactions, which can be applied to the treatment of pollutants environmental media such as but not limited to water, wastewater, soil, and other water-containing environment.

A process for removal of selenium and nitrate from waste water includes both electrochemical and bioprocessing treatment. Embodiments include use of activated walnut shell a growth media for selenium-reducing bacteria.

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for processing or treating wastewater. The methods of systems of the present disclosure may perform a treatment process on a wastewater stream including gray water and black water to produce a product stream. The product stream may comprise a potable water stream or a stream of treated water with a reduced concentration of one or more contaminant originally included in the wastewater stream.

Bioconversion processes are disclosed in which two or more biocatalysts including microorganisms or isolated enzymes that are substantially irreversibly retained in the interior of an open, porous, highly hydrophilic polymer are used in a common aqueous medium. In one exemplary embodiment, one biocatalyst produces a chemical product that is a substrate to at least one other biocatalyst. In another exemplary embodiment, the feed includes two or more substrates and one biocatalyst bioconverts at least one substrate and another biocatalyst bioconverts at least one other substrate. This aspect is particularly useful for treating water including disparate contaminants by metabolic degradation in a bioreaction zone including multiple types of biocatalysts.