Metagenomic analysis of oil refinery wastewater

Treatment of wastewater from refineries removes toxic compounds prior to the water being released into the environment. Treatment could be made more efficient and done more cheaply if we knew how to promote the growth of bacteria that enable toxin breakdown. The aim of this project is to identify which bacteria are present and active when the treatment plant is working as expected, and which are present when the treatment plant is ‘disrupted’. This comprehensive map of the bacteria will enable us to build bacterial communities that are better able to rapidly break down the toxins, a probiotic mixture for the treatment plant. This will result in a more reliable and efficient treatment plant in the future.

Faculty Supervisor:

Gregory Gloor;David Edgell

Student:

Partner:

Suncor Energy Inc (Sarnia, ON)

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

The University of Western Ontario

Program: