Simultaneous biodegradation of benzene, toluene, and p-xylene in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor: Concept demonstration and practical application
- Queen`s Univ., Kingston, Ontario (Canada). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
In this work, a mixture of benzene, toluene, and p-xylene was simultaneously biodegraded by Pseudomonas sp. ATCC 55595 in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor. This bioreactor consisted of a 1-L cell-containing aqueous medium phase and a 500-mL immiscible organic phase. The organic solvent systematically selected for use in the bioreactor was Adol 85 NF, an industrial-grade, biocompatible solvent. In the first of three experiments, the organic phase was loaded with 2.0 g of benzene, 10.15 g of toluene, and 2.1 g of p-xylene, which partitioned into the aqueous phase at concentrations of 25, 50, and 8 mg/L, respectively. The system ultimately biodegraded all of the substrates within 144 h. During the rapid growth phase of this fermentation, the cells were oxygen-limited. This fermentation was therefore repeated using an enriched air supply to remove the oxygen limitation. The use of enriched air ultimately reduced the length of the fermentation to 108 h, thereby improving the overall volumetric consumption rates. Finally, 500 mL of Adol were used to recover 2.0 g of benzene, 10.15 g of toluene, and 2.1 g of p-xylene from silica sand that was contaminated as part of a simulated soil ``spill.``
- OSTI ID:
- 323741
- Journal Information:
- Biotechnology Progress, Journal Name: Biotechnology Progress Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 15; ISSN 8756-7938; ISSN BIPRET
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Biodegradation of phenol at high initial concentrations in two-phase partitioning batch and fed-batch bioreactors
Microbial degradation of benzene and toluene in groundwater