Technical Paper
Evaluation of a Packed Bed Immobilized Microbe Bioreactor for the Continuous Biodegradation of Contaminated Ground Waters and Industry Effluents: Case Studies
1988-07-01
881097
A biological treatment process employing immobilized microbial populations was field tested on contaminated ground waters and industry effluent having elevated concentrations of volatile organics, semi-volatile organics and organic pesticides, respectively. The process, consisting of a packed bed biological reactor, containing specific adapted microbial strains immobilized on a porous diatomaceous earth support was operated in a plug flow configuration over an extended period. General process measurements included temperature, pH, total organic carbon and COD. Microbial adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) measurements provided estimates on immobilized biomass performance. Specific chemical analyses of waste stream constituents were determined using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) methods for both feed and treated streams.
