Premium
Biodegradation of dichloromethane in a granular activated carbon fluidized‐bed reactor
Author(s) -
Flanagan William P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143098x126892
Subject(s) - dichloromethane , biodegradation , fluidized bed , effluent , biomass (ecology) , activated carbon , bioreactor , chemistry , aqueous solution , wastewater , waste management , carbon fibers , pulp and paper industry , environmental engineering , environmental science , materials science , organic chemistry , adsorption , ecology , solvent , biology , composite number , engineering , composite material
A biological fluidized‐bed reactor (FBR) containing biomass attached to granular activated carbon (GAC) was investigated for the treatment of aqueous‐phase dichloromethane (DCM). The system was directly inoculated with fresh biomass solids collected from a General Electric Plastics wastewater treatment facility, located in Mount Vernon, Indiana. The biomass consumed DCM as its sole carbon and energy source following an acclimation period of approximately 8 days. Dichloromethane biodegradation rates in excess of 40 kg/m 3 · d were achieved during continuous operation, with no detectable DCM (<1 mg/L) in the process effluent. Steady‐state data were collected to enable process scale‐up. This study confirmed that the biological GAC FBR is an environmentally acceptable waste treatment configuration for the destruction of aqueous‐phase DCM.