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Activated sludge encapsulation in gellan gum microbeads for gasoline biodegradation

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Abstract

A two-phase dispersion technique, termed emulsification–internal gelation, is proposed for encapsulation of activated sludge in gellan gum microbeads. The influence of emulsion parameters on size distribution of microbeads was investigated. Mean diameter of microbeads varied within a range of 34–265 µm as a descending function of emulsion stirring rate (1,000–5,000 rpm), emulsification time (10–40 min), and emulsifier concentration (0–0.1% w/w), and as an ascending function of disperse phase volume fraction (0.08–0.25). Encapsulated sludge expressed a high biodegradation activity compared with non-encapsulated sludge cultures even at 4.4 times lower level of overall biomass loading. Over 90% of gasoline at an initial concentration of 35 and 70 mg l−1 was removed by both encapsulated and non-encapsulated sludge cultures in sealed serum bottles within 7 days. Encapsulation of activated sludge in gellan gum microbeads enhanced the biological activity of microbial populations in the removal of gasoline hydrocarbons. The results of this study demonstrated the feasibility of the production of size-controlled gellan gum-encapsulated sludge microbeads and their use in the biodegradation of gasoline.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the National Research Council of Canada for financial support, and McGill University for the awarding of the Max Stern Recruitment Fellowship to P.M. This is a NRC registered paper no. 45963.

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  1. Peyman Moslemy

    Present address: Canacure Corporation, 500 Cartier Blvd. West, Suite 133, Laval, Quebec, Canada H7V 5B7

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 2B2

    Peyman Moslemy

  2. Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 6100 Royalmount Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H4P 2R2

    Peyman Moslemy & Serge R. Guiot

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University, Dupius Hall, Kingston, Ontario, Canada K7L 3N6

    Ronald J. Neufeld

Authors
  1. Peyman Moslemy
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  2. Serge R. Guiot
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  3. Ronald J. Neufeld
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Correspondence to Serge R. Guiot.

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Moslemy, P., Guiot, S.R. & Neufeld, R.J. Activated sludge encapsulation in gellan gum microbeads for gasoline biodegradation. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 26, 197–204 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-004-0360-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-004-0360-6

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