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Abstract:
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Trichloroethylene (TCE), one of the most common contaminants found in groundwater, can be treated using microorganisms as the biocatalyst via cometabolism provided a primary substrate such as toluene is also present in the environment. This type of biodegradation is a relatively complex biological process, and obtaining a maximal TCE removal is a challenge due to competitive inhibition of the primary substrate and TCE’s toxic effect. In this study, we evaluated the TCE treatment efficiency of a packed-bed biofilm reactor using Pseudomonas putida F1 as the biocatalyst and toluene as the growth substrate. TCE removal efficiency was used as the response variable, and interactions between TCE and toluene were studied in a statistical model under various operating conditions, including influent toluene and TCE concentrations and flow rates. The response surface modeling procedure was used to evaluate the performance of the biofilm reactor and to determine the optimal toluene feeding strategies under different influent TCE concentrations for achieving optimal TCE removal rates.
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