Laboratory-scale biofilters packed with a mixture of peat, bark and wood were used for xylene and toluene removal from waste air. Two kinds of peat, which differed in the resulting pH of the leachate, were chosen for degradation of the pollutants by a mixed culture. Using peat with the lower pH value, the feasibility of single and multiple pollutant loading during the start-up period and augmentation with Pseudomonas putida strains were characterized. The lower pH value of the bed resulted in higher efficiency of toluene degradation from the mixture of pollutants. At higher pH values better degradation of both pollutants was achieved. Regarding the manner of loading during the start-up period, the best results were obtained using toluene as a single pollutant in the initial phase of operation. Pseudomonas strains demonstrated a high ability to degrade both pollutants; more efficient degradation for xylene than for toluene was observed at high loading rates.

Department of Fermentation Chemistry and Bioengineering University of Chemical Technology 166 28 Prague Czechia

See more in PubMed

Biotechnol Bioeng. 1997 Feb 5;53(3):259-66 PubMed

Biotechnol Bioeng. 1994 Aug 20;44(5):642-8 PubMed

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 1994 Oct;42(1):147-52 PubMed

Biotechnol Bioeng. 1993 Mar 25;41(7):693-9 PubMed

Folia Microbiol (Praha). 2001;46(3):211-6 PubMed

Biotechnol Bioeng. 1993 Mar 5;41(5):512-24 PubMed

Biotechnol Bioeng. 1996 Feb 20;49(4):391-8 PubMed

Isolation and selection of phenol-degrading microorganisms from industrial wastewaters and kinetics of the biodegradation

Bacterial aerobic degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene

Kinetics of phenol oxidation by Candida tropicalis: effects of oxygen supply rate and nutrients on phenol inhibition

The start-up period of styrene degrading biofilters