Biodegradation Kinetics of MTBE in Laboratory Batch and Continuous Flow Reactors
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 128, Issue 9
Abstract
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) biodegradation was investigated using a continuously stirred tank reactor with biomass retention (porous pot reactor) operated under aerobic conditions. MTBE was fed to the reactor at an influent concentration of 150 mg/L (1.70 mM). An identical reactor was operated as a killed control under the same conditions. Operation of these reactors demonstrated that removal of MTBE was biological and suggests that biomass retention is critical for effective degradation. MTBE removal exceeded 99.99% when the volatile suspended solids concentration in the reactor was above 600 mg/L. Batch experiments conducted using mixed liquor from the porous pot reactor indicated that the individual rates of biodegradation of MTBE and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) increase with increasing initial concentration. When batch tests were later repeated, the MTBE degradation rates were found to have increased while the TBA degradation rates remained constant. All batch tests confirmed that the degradation rate of TBA governed the overall degradation rate (degradation rate of both MTBE and TBA). The presence of TBA at lower concentrations did not affect the rate of MTBE degradation; however, higher concentrations of TBA did reduce the rate of MTBE biodegradation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Hardison, L. K., Curry, S. S., Ciuffetti, L. M., and Hyman, M. R.(1997). “Metabolism of diethyl ether and cometabolism of methyl tert-butyl ether by a filamentous fungus, a graphium spp.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 63, 3059–3067.
Mormille, M. R., Liu, S., and Suflita, J. M.(1994). “Anaerobic biodegradation of gasoline oxygenates: Extrapolation of information to multiple sites and redox conditions.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 28, 1727–1732.
Pruden, A., Wilson, G. J., Suidan, M. T., and Venosa, A. D.(2001). “Biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether under various substrate conditions.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 35, 4235–4251.
Salanitro, J. P., Diaz, L. A., Williams, M. P., and Wisniewski, H. L.(1994). “Isolation of a bacterial culture that degrades methyl tert-butyl ether.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 60, 2539–2596.
Steffan, R. J., McClay, K., Vainberg, S., Condee, C. W., and Zhang, D.(1997). “Biodegradation of the gasoline oxygenates methyl tert-butyl ether, ethyl tert-butyl ether, and tert-amyl methyl ether by propane-oxidizing bacteria.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 63, 4216–4222.
Suflita, J. M., and Mormile, M. R.(1993). “Anaerobic biodegradation of known and potential gasoline oxygenates in the terrestrial subsurface.” Environ. Sci. Technol., 27, 976–978.
Yeh, C. K., and Novak, J. T.(1994). “Anaerobic biodegradation of gasoline oxygenates in soils.” Water Environ. Res., 15, 1231–1236.
Yeh, C. K., and Novak, J. T.(1995). “The effect of hydrogen peroxide on the degradation of methyl and ethyl tert-butyl ether in soil.” Water Environ. Res., 67, 828–834.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2002
Accepted: Mar 19, 2002
Published online: Aug 15, 2002
Published in print: Sep 2002
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.