RESPONSE OF CYPRINUS CARPIO TO PHENOL AND FURFURAL SHOCK LOADS IN PACT SYSTEM

Abstract

Treatment efficiency, design factors and kinetic coefficients were studied using two pilots of activated sludge (AS) and powdered activated carbon technology (PACT), for treating Tehran Oil Refinery effluent, in a duration of more than 12 months In order to evaluate the performance of each system against growth inhibitor shock loads, different concentrations of phenol and furfural (10-300 mg/l) were applied, following a series of experiments in which, treated effluents from the two systems were used as influent water into two aquariums containing freshwater Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) of 9-15g weight, 6-9 cm length and with a fish density of 5g/1. Results of fish fatal rates with 125 and 250-mg/l phenol were 16% and 38% for AS system and 5.6% and 8% for PACT system, respectively. Changing the growth inhibitor to furfural, with a concentration of 100 mg/I, led to the fatal rates of 100% and 0% for AS and PACT systems, respectively. Increasing furfural load to 300 mg/I destroyed only 20% of fish in PACT pilot.