Bioremediation of industrial VOC air pollutants

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Date
2006-03-09Author
Nikakhtari, Hossein
Type
ThesisDegree Level
DoctoralMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
An External Loop Airlift Bioreactor with a small amount (99% porosity) of 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, fed-batch and continuous runs at three different dilution rates were completed with phenol in the polluted air as the only source of growth substrate. 100% phenol removal was achieved at phenol loading rates up to 33120 mg/h.m3 using only one third of the column, superior to any previously reported biodegradation rates of phenol polluted air with 100% efficiency. A mathematical model has been developed and is shown to accurately predict the transient and steady state data.
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)Department
Chemical EngineeringProgram
Chemical EngineeringSupervisor
Hill, Gordon A.Committee
Nemati, Mehdi; Lin, Yen-Han; Fleming, Ian R.; Phoenix, AaronCopyright Date
March 2006Subject
Bioremediation
Biofilm
Phenol
Loop Bioreactor
Packed Bed Bioreactor
Air Pollution
Mass Transfer