Title: Biodegradation of plasticiser di-n-butyl phthalate by immobilised microbial cells

Authors: Weizhong Wu, Xianlin Meng

Addresses: College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China. ' Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 202 Haihe Road, Nangang District, Harbin 150090, China

Abstract: Microorganisms capable of degrading Di-n-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) were isolated by acclimation and enrichment techniques. The adaptation of microorganisms to DBP was investigated. The microbial cells were immobilised onto the ceramic honeycomb supports. The DBP degradation was performed in a novel kind of bioreactor using ceramic honeycomb support as carrier for microbial immobilisation. The experimental results showed that the biomass adsorbed onto the ceramic support could reach 95 mg dry weight/g carrier. The immobilised microbial cells were used for the treatment of wastewater containing DBP. The results demonstrated that the DBP concentration of the outlet reached the stationery-state level of less than 1.0 mg/L within three days at inlet DBP concentration of 100 mg/L and 12 h of hydraulic retention time.

Keywords: plasticiser degradation; DBP degradation; di-n-butyl phthalate; biodegradation; immobilised cells; priority pollutant; microorganismss; bioreactors; ceramic honeycomb; microbial immobilisation; wastewater treatment.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2009.026662

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2009 Vol.38 No.1/2, pp.203 - 211

Published online: 22 Jun 2009 *

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