Use fresh water or water with sufficiently reduced salinity to trigger burst of bacterial cell wall due to osmotic pressure gradient. Combine the freshwater with conventional biocide treatment and pigging to increase the likelihood of killing the bacteria responsible for reservoir souring.

The present invention relates to a bio-assisted treatment of wastewater containing sulphide, phenols and hydrocarbons. Further, the present invention relates to a process for eliminating sulphide and other sulphur compounds including, but not limited to, mercaptans, disulfides, PAHs, phenols and hydrocarbons.

A process for treating sulphate containing effluent, which includes receiving a sulphide containing effluent into a two-phase fluidised bed reactor containing particles and floating media, permitting calcium carbonate from the effluent to precipitate on particles in the first fluidised bed reactor, aerating the solution in the reactor to remove CO.sub.2 from the solution, thereby to increase the pH in the reactor, permitting biological sulphide oxidation to occur on the floating media by means of sulphide oxidizing bacteria thereby to produce elemental sulphur, recycling the fluidised bed reactor at a sufficient rate to effect abrasion to remove elemental sulphur from the floating media, harvesting the sulphur from a top portion of the reactor, recycling hydroxyl ions internally in solution in to enhance calcium carbonate precipitation by further increasing the pH.

Separation processes using osmotically driven membrane systems are disclosed generally involving the extraction of solvent from a first solution to concentrate a solute by using a second concentrated solution to draw the solvent from the first solution across a semi-permeable membrane. Pre-treatment and post-treatment may also enhance the osmotically driven membrane processes.

Use fresh water or water with sufficiently reduced salinity to trigger burst of bacterial cell wall due to osmotic pressure gradient. Combine the freshwater with conventional biocide treatment and pigging to increase the likelihood of killing the bacteria responsible for reservoir souring.

The invention is directed to a process to continuously treat a hydrogen sulphide comprising gas, said process comprising the following steps: (a) contacting the hydrogen sulphide comprising gas with an aqueous alkaline liquid comprising sulphide-oxidising bacteria and elemental sulphur particles thereby producing a loaded aqueous liquid comprising dissolved sulphide, polysulphide compounds, sulphide-oxidising bacteria and elemental sulphur particles and a gas having a lower content of hydrogen sulphide, and passing the loaded aqueous liquid through a polysulphide reactor zone comprising one or more plug flow reactor zones, (b) contacting the loaded aqueous liquid with an oxidant to enable the sulphide-oxidising bacteria to oxidise sulphide to elemental sulphur, thereby producing an enriched aqueous liquid comprising an increased amount of elemental sulphur particles and (c) separating elemental sulphur particles from the enriched aqueous liquid, wherein the residence time of the loaded aqueous liquid between its preparation in step (a) and its supply to step (b) is between 3 and 45 minutes, and wherein the content of elemental sulphur as part of the polysulphide compounds in the loaded aqueous liquid [S.sup.0 in S.sub.x.sup.2?] as supplied to step (b) is above 0.7 mM.

A composition for stimulating the production and excretion of a lignolytic enzyme in a microorganism for degrading harmful substances and/or in the manufacturing of easily degradable ester containing plastics or articles made of ester containing plastic. The composition mainly includes tributyrin, triolein, fish oil, 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid, n-aliphatic primary fatty alcohols, polycaprolactone, aliphatic polyesters, linolenic acid, linoleic acid, alpha linolenic acid, plant polyesters, cutin, cutin derivatives, cutin monomers, omega hydroxy acids, 16-hydroxy palmitic acid, 9,16-dihydroxypalmitic acid, 10,16-dihydroxypalmitic acid, C18-hydroxy oleic acid, 9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxy stearic acid, 9,10, 18-trihydroxystearate, suberin, cork, fruit skins, vegetable skins, and their constituents and derivatives, hydroxy fatty acids, 16-hydroxy palmitic acid, 18-hydroxy stearic acid, juniperic acid, hexadecanol, linseed oil, perilla oil, amides, acetamide and N-acetyl amide, zinc, zinc salts, butyrate, acetate, lactate, manganese peroxidase, and carbamide peroxide.

A biological wastewater processing system is provided, which includes a processing unit and a desulfurization bacteria culture tank. The processing unit is used to remove humic acid or color from wastewater. The processing unit includes a plurality of porous carriers, and the desulfurization bacteria and white-rot fungi are immobilized on the porous carriers. The desulfurization bacteria culture tank is used for cultivating the desulfurization bacteria, and the desulfurization bacteria culture tank is connected to the processing unit. In addition, the desulfurization bacteria culture tank produces a liquid containing sulfate ions, and the liquid containing sulfate ions is introduced into the processing unit to control the pH value of the processing unit, so that the pH value of the processing unit is between 5.5 and 6.5. A method for processing biological wastewater is also provided.

A method of removing organic carbon in biological wastewater treatment includes the steps of: (a) oxidizing organic carbon to carbon dioxide with elemental sulfur as an electron carrier, and reducing the elemental sulfur to sulfide; (b) oxidizing the sulfide to elemental sulfur by recycled nitrate through controlling one or more of a recycling ratio to maintain an oxidation reduction potential (ORP) within the range of 360 mv to 420 mv, using an auto ORP controller; (c) recycling the elemental sulfur formed during oxidation of the sulfide back to the oxidation of the organic carbon; and (d) oxidizing ammonium to nitrate then partially recycled back for sulfide oxidation.

The invention relates to bio-electrochemical systems for treating wastewater, and sour gas produced by anaerobic digestion of organic material. The invention further relates to novel anode/cathode pairing schemes, and electric and hydraulic architectures for use in bio-electrochemical systems.