The contribution of Kargi and Dincer has been considerable,
mainly using synthetic substrates (molasses). Kargi and Dincer
(1996a, b, 1997) were initially interested in the effect of salt
concentration on the aerobic biological treatment of a
synthetic saline effluent using a fedbatch biological reactor.
The synthetic effluent wasmade up of diluted molasses, urea,
KH2PO4 and NaCl up to a concentration of 50 g l1 and
characterised by a COD:N:P ratio of 100:10:1. The treatment
process used activated sludge. Kargi and Dincer (1997)
observed that the effluent COD removal efficiency fell from
85% to 59% when salinity increased from 0 to 5%. Thereafter,
Dinc-er and Kargi (2001) tested innovative treatment processes
in halophilic conditions including, for instance, a process
with aerobic rotating discs whose number and surface area
varied. This reactor was used to purify a synthetic effluent
under conditions of increasing salinity (0–10%) and made it
possible to exceed 80% of COD removal efficiency as long as
the salt concentration remained lower than 50 g l1