Resumen de Continuous bioremediation of phenol polluted air in an external loop airlift bioreactor with packed bed

Hossein Nikakhtari, Gordon A. Hill

• An External Loop Airlift Bioreactor with a small amount (99% porosity) of a stainless steel mesh packing inserted in the riser section was used for bioremediation of a phenol polluted air stream. The packing enhanced VOC and oxygen mass transfer rates and provided a large surface area for cell immobilization. Using a pure strain of Pseudomonas putida, batch and continuous runs at three different dilution rates were completed in this bioreactor with phenol form the polluted air as the only source of growth substrate. Essentially 100 % phenol removal was achieved at a phenol loading rate of 22160 mg/h.m3, superior to any previously reported biodegradation rates of VOC polluted air. This bioreactor seems to be a novel bioreactor with a high potential to continuously bioremediate VOCs at high loading rates.