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Biodegradation of High Concentrations of Benzene and Diesel in a Fixed-Film Reactor

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Abstract

The degradation of benzene in groundwater at concentrations as high as 2,000 mg L−1 was studied using a four-column trickling-flow fixed-film biological reactor with recirculation. A decrease in the content of benzene was achieved, its concentration falling to 0.55 µg L−1. On the contrary, high levels of diesel fuel were not diminished sufficiently with this mode of operation of the reactor. Thus, a submerged reactor was tested as a modification to the conventional trickling-flow configuration. This modified fixed-film reactor was effective when high loadings of diesel were present as an emulsion. The concentration of diesel was reduced from 2,000 to 0.12 mg L−1 after 8 days of treatment. In both cases, the reactors were packed with a carbonaceous material and were operated in semibatch mode with recirculation. The final concentration of benzene fell below the permissible limit established by Mexican law, and the results for both pollutants also met the concentration limits required by the German law for drinking water, 0.001 mg L−1 for benzene and 0.1 mg L−1 for total hydrocarbons.

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Acknowledgements

The identification of the microorganisms was done by Dr. Mona Gouda in the cooperation between The Chair of Chemical Engineering and Hazardous Waste (Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus) and Dr. Bär, Carl-Thiem-Klinikum. The authors would also like to thank CONACyT for support through scholarships. The authors thank Dr. Thomas Chapman, Ing., Walter Meyer, and Dr. Carlos Eduardo Frontana Vázquez for helpful comments and suggestions on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico en Electroquímica, Parque Tecnológico Querétaro, Sanfandila, Pedro Escobedo, Querétaro, Mexico, C.P. 76703

    Violeta Bravo & René Antaño-López

  2. Fakultät für Umweltwissenschaften und Verfahrenstechnik, Brandenburgische Technische Universität Cottbus, Lehrgebäude 4A, C.P. 03013, Cottbus, Germany

    Wolfgang Spyra

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  1. Violeta Bravo
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Correspondence to Violeta Bravo.

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Bravo, V., Spyra, W. & Antaño-López, R. Biodegradation of High Concentrations of Benzene and Diesel in a Fixed-Film Reactor. Water Air Soil Pollut 204, 351–361 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0049-1

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