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Title: Treatment of chlorinated solvents in a bioreactor employing methane-oxidizing bacteria. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6097148

Researchers have developed and tested a treatment process utilizing methane-oxidizing bacteria in a biological reactor. Trichloroethylene (TCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE), and mixtures of these compounds, such as often found in contaminated ground water or waste waters, can be efficiently degraded in this bioreactor. As methane is the sole source of carbon that can be utilized by these aerobic bacteria, the reactor was designed to provide efficient gas transfer of methane, as well as oxygen, to the biomass. The control and monitoring of gas input allowed determination of the effect of the concentrations and ratios of these gases on methanotrophic growth and biodegradation of the chlorinated aliphatics. Batch RBC experiments showed that the methanotrophic bacterial consortium could form a viable biofilm on a number of surface materials. Methane, TCE, and DCE biodegradation data from both batch and continuous RBC experiments indicated that completely mixed flow conditions and first order kinetics could be assumed for scale up predictions. The results showed that overall microbial activity was controlled by the methane concentration and the relative amount of oxygen made available.

Research Organization:
ABB Environmental Services, Inc., Wakefield, MA (United States). Bioremediation Systems Div.
OSTI ID:
6097148
Report Number(s):
PB-92-113984/XAB; CNN: NSF-ISI87-03753
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Washington, DC
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English