ABSTRACT
The vinasses’ disposal into the water bodies without prior treatment affects the quality of aquatic life. The effect depends on the dose of vinasses discharged. A variety of technologies based upon the recovery of heavy metals from industrial wastes via microbial pathways have been evaluated. Metal toxicity produces adverse biological effects on survival, activity, growth, metabolism, and/or reproduction of aquatic organisms; thereby they can be lethal or harm the organism without killing it directly. Effect of heavy metals mixture on fishes from Dam Lake used as a model, revealed alterations in tissues in gills and liver. The use of microorganisms to remove heavy metals is useful even when they are present in very low concentrations. The Pilot Plant of Industrial and Microbiological Processes (PROIMI) has a collection of more than 50 taxa, confirming the placement of most of these strains within the class of Actinobacteria.
