The primary pollutants in reverse-osmosis concentrates (ROC) are the substances with the UV absorbance at 254 nm (UV254), which is closely related to humic substances that can be degraded by humus-reducing bacteria. This work studied the degradation characteristics of humus-reducing bacteria in ROC treatment. The physiological and biochemical characteristics of humus-reducing bacteria were investigated, and the effects of pH values and electron donors on the reduction of humic analog, antraquinone-2, 6-disulfonate were explored to optimize the degradation. Furthermore, the O3-assisted UV-Fenton method was applied for the pretreatment of ROC, and the degradation of UV254 absorbance was apparently promoted with their removal rate, reaching 84.2% after 10 days of degradation by humus-reducing bacteria.
Keywords: O3-assisted UV-Fenton method; Reverse-osmosis concentrates; UV254 absorbance; humus-reducing bacteria; microbial degradation.