Application of salt-tolerant bacteria to treat wastewater from agar powder production

Authors

  • Dinh Thu Hanh Faculty of Environment, VNU University of Science
  • TranVan Son Faculty of Environment, VNU University of Science
  • Dinh Ngoc Tan Institute of Technology Research and Environmental Analysis
  • Pham Hoang Giang Institute of Technology Research and Environmental Analysis
  • Nguyen Thi Tam Thu (Corresponding Author) Institute of Materials, Biology and Environment/Academy of Military Science and Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54939/1859-1043.j.mst.IMBE.2025.165-171

Keywords:

Agar; Starch; Salt-tolerant; Wastewater.

Abstract

The wastewater generated from the agar powder production process using seaweed as raw material is classified as saline wastewater, with NaCl concentrations ranging from 10 to 30 g/L and containing high starch content. Methods for treating saline wastewater using halophilic microorganisms are being studied. In this study, two saline bacterial strains, Bacillus sp. N9 and Enterococcus sp. N5, which have high starch degradation ability, were used to treat saline wastewater. Preliminary results showed that both strains were capable of starch degradation at 30 °C, pH 6, with the same initial concentration of 2%. Under these conditions, the combined use of two reactors and activated sludge to treat synthetic saline wastewater (initial COD: 960 mg/L; NH₄⁺-N: 49.34 mg/L; PO₄³⁻-P: 25.64 mg/L) achieved removal efficiencies of 90%, 80%, and 81% after 12 hours for COD, NH₄⁺-N, and PO₄³⁻-P, respectively. Using aeration to treat wastewater from an agar producer resulted in removal efficiencies of 71%, 75%, and 67% after 24 hours for COD, NH₄⁺-N, and PO₄³⁻-P, respectively.

References

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Published

18-11-2025

How to Cite

[1]
Dinh Thu Hanh, TranVan Son, Dinh Ngoc Tan, Pham Hoang Giang, and Nguyen Thi Tam Thu, “Application of salt-tolerant bacteria to treat wastewater from agar powder production”, JMST, no. IMBE, pp. 165–171, Nov. 2025.

Issue

Section

Chemistry, Biology & Environment