title: Nonylphenol polyethoxylate degradation in aqueous waste by the use of batch and continuous biofilm bioreactors.
abstract: An aerobic bacterial consortium (Consortium A) was recently obtained from textile wastewater and was capable of degrading 4-nonylphenol and nonylphenol polyethoxylates (NPnEOs). In the perspective of developing a biotechnological process for the treatment of effluents from activated sludge plants fed with NPnEO contaminated wastewater, the capability of Consortium A of biodegrading an industrial mixture of NPnEOs in the physiological condition of immobilized cells was investigated. Two identically configured packed bed reactors were developed by immobilizing the consortium on silica beads or granular activated carbon. Both reactors were tested in batch and continuous mode by feeding them with water supplemented with NPnEOs. The two reactors were monitored through chemical, microbiological and molecular integrated methodology. Active biofilms were generated on both immobilization supports. Both reactors displayed comparable NPnEO mineralization under batch and continuous conditions. FISH analyses evidenced that the biofilms evolved with time by changing the reactor operation mode and the organic load. Taken together, the data collected in this study provide a preliminary strong indication on the feasibility of Consortium A-based biofilm technology for the decontamination of NPnEO containing effluents.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry and Material Science, University of Bologna, Via Terracini 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy. diana.digioia@unibo.it
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Di Gioia
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sciubba
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bertin
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barberio
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salvadori
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Frassinetti
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fava
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018441:Biofilms; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D010636:Phenols / Q000378:metabolism*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D010636:Phenols; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C025256:nonylphenol