Design and Performance Evaluation of a Laboratory-Scale Aerobic Stirred-Tank Bioreactor for Hydrocarbon Degradation in Produced Water
Abstract
Produced water, a major byproduct of oil extraction containing hazardous hydrocarbons, requires effective treatment before environmental discharge. This study demonstrates the successful biodegradation of hydrocarbons in untreated produced water from Nigeria's Ijaw oil field using a laboratory-scale continuous stirred tank bioreactor (CSTR) inoculated with a defined microbial consortium (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, and Aspergillus niger). Over 15 days of treatment in the 1L fabricated CSTR, UV-Visible spectrophotometric analysis revealed a remarkable reduction in hydrocarbon concentration from 64.882 mg/L to 1.643 mg/L, achieving 97.5% removal efficiency. The final effluent quality not only met but substantially exceeded global discharge standards (14-39 mg/L, OGP 2004), highlighting the exceptional performance of this aerobic biological treatment system. These findings validate the potential of microbial consortia in CSTR systems as an efficient, sustainable solution for produced water remediation, particularly relevant for oil-producing regions facing environmental challenges from hydrocarbon contamination. The study's demonstrated effectiveness at laboratory scale provides a strong foundation for future research into practical field applications of this technology.
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APA Style:
Oria-Usifo, E., Joseph, S., Edward, I., Enuma, I., Adegoroye, A., & Odia, A. (2025). Design and Performance Evaluation of a Laboratory-Scale Aerobic Stirred-Tank Bioreactor for Hydrocarbon Degradation in Produced Water. International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Related Sciences, 1(4), 21-32. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15817503
IEEE Style:
E. Oria-Usifo, S. Joseph, I. Edward, I. Enuma, A. Adegoroye, and A. Odia, "Design and Performance Evaluation of a Laboratory-Scale Aerobic Stirred-Tank Bioreactor for Hydrocarbon Degradation in Produced Water," International Journal of Advanced Research in Engineering and Related Sciences, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 21-32, 2025, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.15817503.
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