Biodegradation of the Water-Soluble Gasoline Components in a Novel Hybrid Bioreactor

A novel hybrid bioreactor was designed to remove volatile organic compounds from water contaminated with water-soluble gasoline components, and the performance of this new bioreactor was investigated. It was composed of two biotrickling filter sections and one biofilter section. The liquid phase pollutants were removed by a mixed culture in the biotrickling filter sections and the gas phase pollutants stripped by air injection in the biofilter section. The specific rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal obtained in the reactor were directly proportional to the pollutant-loading rate. A stable operation of the hybrid bioreactor was attained for long periods of time. The bioreactor had the potential to simultaneously treat a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds, e.g., those present in the water-soluble fraction of gasoline, as well as the capacity to readily adapt to changing operational conditions, such as an increased contaminant loading, and variations in the airflow rate.