Bioremediation of Oriented Strand Board (OSB) Process Wastewater

This study investigated the use of bioreactors and constructed wetlands to remediate oriented strand board (OSB) process wastewater. The first study evaluated the use of free cell bioreactors to reduce the biological oxygen demand (BOD). Control samples had significantly higher BOD levels than other treatments, and air+bacteria+nutrients treatment achieved significantly lower in BOD than air-only. Toxicity, total phenol, and total organic carbon concentrations decreased in all treatments. The initial constructed wetland was a screening study to determine which plants could acclimate to OSB process water. Plants that survived were placed into a floating constructed wetland (water hyacinth) or an emergent wetland (soft rush and Chinese water chestnut). A significant decrease in BOD occurred between days 15 and 30, with the emergent wetlands dropping by 51.7% and the floating wetlands by 52.7%. Toxicity, total phenol, and total organic carbon concentrations decreased in all treatments. This research suggests that an OSB facility may want to have an aerated pond that then feeds a constructed wetland. This could not only provide a means to treat and dispose of the wastewater in an environmentally favorable manner, but also provides the secondary benefits of a wetland and its associated land enrichment. © 2016. All Rights Reserved.