title: Biodegradation of toluene in a two-phase partitioning bioreactor--impact of activated sludge acclimation.
abstract: A two-phase partitioning bioreactor was considered to remove toluene contained in a biodegradable organic phase by activated sludge (AS). The selected solvent was hexadecane. In a first step, the biodegradation of toluene dissolved in hexadecane by AS was examined. In a second step, acclimation of the AS was carried out in order to improve the biodegradation rate. Acclimation improved toluene removal, since biodegradation yield increased from 72% to more than 91%. A total consumption was observed after only 4 days culture with acclimated AS, since the rest of the toluene corresponded to gas leak; while in the case of non-acclimated sludge, losses cannot account for all non-degraded toluene. Regarding hexadecane, acclimation also improved its degradation, from 43% to 79% after 6 days culture for non-acclimated and acclimated AS, respectively.
authors.forename: Imane
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Béchohra
authors.forename: Annabelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Couvert
authors.forename: Abdeltif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amrane
mesh_terms: D000473:Alkanes / Q000737:chemistry; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D019149:Bioreactors; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D005740:Gases; D012722:Sewage; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000473:Alkanes; D005740:Gases; D012722:Sewage; D012997:Solvents; D014050:Toluene; D002244:Carbon; C007932:n-hexadecane