Engineering design and assembly of experimental units for the bioremediation of petroleum waste on a bench-scale

Abstract

Oil pollution is a national problem. Research and development of bioremediation technologies for petroleum waste is a priority. The Center for Environmental Studies of Cienfuegos, together with the Institute of Marine Sciences and the Institute of Soil Research, are executing the national project "Evaluation of biopile ecotechnology for bioremediation of petroleum waste using texturizers". The determination of the shape and size of the experimental units constituted a scientific demand for bench-scale research. The aim was to design and to assemble the experimental biopile units on a bench-scale to evaluate the effectiveness of bioremediation of petroleum waste. Was carried out the study of the state of the art. Were considered the design criteria of the ecotechnology, the requirements of the design of experiments, and the characteristics of the experimental site. Was adopted the shape of a truncated pyramid. Was programmed an Excel workbook to perform the mass balance at the experimental unit level and determine its dimensions. The assembly of the experimental units confirmed the validity of the engineering design. An ingenious solution was provided to a scientific demand for research, which was applied on a bench-scale and will become generalized in the scale-up of ecotechnology.