In need of a recovery plan for their wastewater
treatment system, an industrial oil refinery in New
Mexico used BioLynceus® to restart their biological
treatment after a toxic hit. The refinery was processing
50,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
Figure 1. Large oil refinery and adjacent treatment lagoon
processing refinery wastewater flows (Retrieved from IPIECA, 2010).1
1 IPIECA (International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association). Petroleum Refining Water/Wastewater use and management.
Operations Best Practice Series, London, UK. 2010.
Toxicity was experienced in the system after foaming
fire retardant was unexpectedly released at the
refinery. The wastewater discharged to the lagoons
following the event was contaminated with chemicals.
The compounds in the flame retardant reacted with
the dissolved oxygen (DO) in the treatment ponds
which drastically decreased the oxygen availability for
wastewater microbiology. Because the DO levels were
very low, the oxygen reliant biomass in the system was
killed off.
Without a concentrated and functioning microbial
population, the refinery wastewater was not properly
processed in the aerated lagoons. Solids and refining
residues began to build-up in the system. The lagoons
were also covered in a thick oily film that produced
unpleasant odors.
The refinery required bioaugmentation to restart
biological processing in the aerated lagoons. BioLynceus®
ProBiotic Scrubber® II (PBII) was used to augment the
system. The product contained a concentrated and
intentionally selected community of live wastewater
microbiology. The culture was administered in the first
treatment lagoon to (1) increase wastewater processing
biomass in the system and (2) improve solids and
hydrocarbon removal.
Figure 2. Aerated wastewater lagoon treating oil refinery discharge.
The lagoon developed a solids and hydrocarbon film from crude oil
byproducts in the refinery wastewater.
Within a week of treatment with PBII, the biomass
regenerated in the system. This helped to reduce
odors. Additionally, the oily foam layer on the lagoons
was reduced. The solids and hydrocarbon sludge that
accumulated in the system began to degrade a few
months after inoculation. Bioaugmentation with PBII
helped reinstate a healthy biomass in the lagoon system
after a toxic chemical loading.
BioLynceus® ProBiotic Scrubber® II augments biomass in refinery lagoons to mitigate toxicity.