Journal of Microbiology

Degradation of Gaseous BTX by Biofiltration with Phanerochaete chrysosporium: Oh, Young Sook , Choi, Sung Chan , Kim, Yeong Kwan; J. Microbiol. 1998;36(1):34-38.

Abstract: Biodegradation of benzene, toluene, and o-, m-, p-xylenes(BTX) by the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium was studied in a biofilter. P. chrysosporium was cultured under shaking conditions on YMG growth medium and homogenized pre-grown cells were transferred to biofilter. A preliminary batch culture experiment showed that all BTX components were degraded simultaneously without any observable substrate interactions, while the rate constant was the highest for p-xylene and lowest for benzene. For the biofiltration of the BTX, the BTX compounds were individually vaporized from 3 glass bottles containing benzene, toluene, and xylenes, respectively, by applying air flow. The vaporized fluxes of the compounds were immediately taken by the air current to the biofilter through the horizontal tube at the rim of the source other than the pollutants themselves. The effect of air flow rate (0.026~0.450 l/h) on the degradation of the compounds was evaluated in the biofilter packed with glass beads. A substantially higher degradation of all the BTX compounds was observed at higher flow rates, suggesting that mass transfer is a limiting factor in the degradation process. At a flow rate of 0.026l/h, there was no substantial difference in the extent of degradation between the two support media.

Selection of Suitable Packing Material for Biofiltration of Toluene, m- and p-Xylene Vapors: Young-Sook Oh , Sung-Chan Choi; J. Microbiol. 2000;38(1):31-35.

Abstract: A suitable packing material for biofiltration of monoaromatic solvent vapors was selected among various types of packing materials such as peat, bark chips, vermiculite, and Hydroballs. A previously isolated strain, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes BTXO2, which could utilize toluene, m- and p-xylene as carbon and energy sources was used as a biofilter inoculum. Four glass biofilters (6 cm dia. X 60 cm) were individually packed with each of the packing materials and solvent vapors were passed through the columns. During three weeks of peat biofilter operation, average removal efficiencies of toluene, m-and p-xylene were 90.4%, 95.3%, and 82.1%, respectively. With the other packings, the efficiencies were in the range of 10.1 to 58.6% which were significantly lower than those of the peat biofilter. The peat biofilter was continually operated for approximately nine months and the biofilter sustained its degradation activity during the operation period with minimal maintenance. At steady state, average removal rates of toluene, m- and p-xylene vapors were estimated as 14.2, 5.5, and 8.1 g m^-3 packing h^-1, respectively.

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