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Continuous aerobic phenol degradation by defined mixed immobilized culture in packed bed reactors

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Abstract

A defined mixed culture ofPseudomonas putida, Commamonas testosteroni andCandida tropicalis was immobilized by adsorption on polyurethane foam, cocoa-fibers, expanded slate and sintered glass. Packed bed reactors were used for long-term continuous phenol biodegradations. Loading experiments were done to study the impact of the following parameters: (1) hydraulic retention time, (2) dissolved oxygen concentration, and (3) elimination of the oxygen limitation. After the acclimation period (≈10 d), the loading test with the individual packings showed the following maximum degradation rates: sintered glass 34, polyurethane foam 12, expanded slate 11.5, and cocoa-fibers 7.7 kg m−3 d−1. All these values were reached at a removal efficiency >99 % and with oxygen in excess. Under these conditions, the pH of the diluted unbuffered medium in the reactor effluent was 3.2–4.0 and no incompletely oxidized metabolic intermediates were found. The free cell concentration in the effluent increased after the phenol overloading time period.

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Abbreviations

c in :

inlet phenol concentration, mg/L

c out :

outlet phenol concentration, mg/L

DOC:

dissolved oxygen concentration, %

FBR:

fluidized bed reactor

HRT:

hydraulic retention time, min

MM:

mineral medium

OL:

organic loading, mg L−1 h−1

PBR:

packed bed reactor

pHout :

pH of the medium outlet

PUF:

polyurethane foam

Q :

water flow rate, mL/min

q S :

phenol degradation rate, mg L−1 h−1

RE:

removal efficiency, %

V L :

working volume of reactor, mL

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, 128 40, Prague 2, Czechia

    J. Páca & M. Stiborová

  2. Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, 166 28, Prague 6, Czechia

    J. Páca & A. Kostečková

  3. Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 142 20, Prague 4, Czechia

    M. Sobotka

  4. School of Science & Technology, University of Teeside, TSI 3BA, Middlesbrough, UK

    A. M. Gerrard

  5. Laboratorio de Processos Biotecnologicos, Departmento de Engenharia Qumica, Federal University of Paraná, 81 531-970, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil

    C. R. Soccol

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  1. J. Páca
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  2. J. Páca
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  3. A. Kostečková
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  4. M. Stiborová
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Correspondence to J. Páca.

Additional information

The work was supported by theCzech Science Foundation (project 104/03/0407).

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Páca, J., Páca, J., Kostečková, A. et al. Continuous aerobic phenol degradation by defined mixed immobilized culture in packed bed reactors. Folia Microbiol 50, 301–308 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931410

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02931410

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