Abstract
A novel gas-scrubbing bioreactor based on a downflow hanging sponge (DHS) reactor was developed as a new volatile organic compound (VOC) treatment system. In this study, the effects of varying the space velocity and gas/liquid ratio were investigated to assess the effectiveness of using toluene gas as a model VOC. Under optimal conditions, the toluene removal rate was greater than 80%, and the maximum elimination capacity was observed at approximately 13 g-C m−3 h−1. The DHS reactor demonstrated slight pressure loss (20 Pa) and a high concentration of suspended solids (up to 30,000 mg/L-sponge). Cloning analysis of the 16S rRNA and functional genes of toluene degradation pathways (tmoA, todC, tbmD, xylA, and bssA) revealed that the clones belonging to the toluene-degrading bacterium Pseudomonas putida constituted the predominant species detected at the bottom of the DHS reactor. The toluene-degrading bacteria Pseudoxanthomonas spadix and Pseudomonas sp. were also detected by tmoA- and todC-targeted cloning analyses, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential for the industrial application of this novel DHS reactor for toluene gas treatment.
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This work was supported by research grants from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi was supported by a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (grant number: 25 9874).
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Yamaguchi, T., Nakamura, S., Hatamoto, M. et al. A novel approach for toluene gas treatment using a downflow hanging sponge reactor. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 102, 5625–5634 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8933-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-8933-5