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Acetate Enhances the Specific Consumption Rate of Toluene Under Denitrifying Conditions

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Abstract

Toluene is usually present in the environment as a contaminant along with other carbon sources which may influence its removal. In this work we studied the effect of a readily consumable carbon source such as acetate on toluene mineralization under denitrifying conditions. Continuous and batch cultures with stabilized denitrifying sludge were carried out. An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB) was fed with several ratios of acetate-C/toluene-C loading rates (mg C/L-day: 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, and 0/100). Batch assays with different acetate-C/toluene-C ratios (10/70, 30/50, 50/30, and 65/20 mg C/L) were also done. As the acetate loading rate decreased in the culture, the carbon and nitrate consumption efficiency decreased by 40% and 34%, respectively. HCO3 − and N2 yields also decreased by 43%. Analysis of the denitrifying community using the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis technique indicated that there was no clear relationship between its population profile and the metabolic pattern. In batch assays, when the acetate concentration was higher than that of toluene (65 mg acetate-C/L vs 20 mg toluene-C/L), the specific consumption rate of toluene (qT) was two times higher than in assays with 20 mg toluene-C/L as the sole electron source (0.006 mg C/mg volatile suspended solids-day). It is proposed that acetate can act by enhancing the growth of microbial populations and as a biochemical enhancer. The results show that acetate addition can be useful to improve the consumption rate of toluene in contaminated water.

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Acknowledgment

This study received financial support from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT), México (Grant SEP-2003-C02-43144).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, C.P. 09340, Iztapalapa, D.F., Mexico

    Sergio Martínez-Hernández, Jorge Gómez & Flor de María Cuervo-López

  2. Departamento de Biotecnología Ambiental, Instituto de Ecología, A.C., C.P. 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico

    Eugenia J. Olguín

Authors
  1. Sergio Martínez-Hernández
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  2. Eugenia J. Olguín
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  3. Jorge Gómez
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  4. Flor de María Cuervo-López
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Correspondence to Flor de María Cuervo-López.

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Martínez-Hernández, S., Olguín, E.J., Gómez, J. et al. Acetate Enhances the Specific Consumption Rate of Toluene Under Denitrifying Conditions. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 57, 679–687 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-009-9321-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-009-9321-z

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