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Experimental Study of Biodegradation of Ethanol and Toluene Vapors

Experimental Study of Biodegradation of Ethanol and Toluene Vapors

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element solution consisted <strong>of</strong> (grams in 100 mL water): Na 2 MoO 4 • 2H 2 O, 0.5; MnSO 4 ,<br />

0.5; CuSO 4 , 0.5; FeCl 3 , 0.5. The medium was prepared by mixing the appropriate<br />

inorganic chemicals with one liter <strong>of</strong> distilled water that resulted in a buffered medium<br />

with a starting pH <strong>of</strong> 6.7-6.9. The media, culture flasks <strong>and</strong> bioreactor were sterilized at<br />

121 o C for at least 30 minutes <strong>and</strong> then the organic compounds were added in a bi<strong>of</strong>ilter<br />

cabinet to reach the desired initial concentrations.<br />

3.1.2 Organic Chemicals<br />

For all bioremediation experiments, only benzyl alcohol, ethanol <strong>and</strong>/or toluene<br />

were used as carbon sources. <strong>Ethanol</strong> (100%, Commercial Alcohols Inc., Brampton,<br />

Canada), toluene (99.5%, BDH, Toronto, Canada) <strong>and</strong> benzyl alcohol (99%, Aldrich<br />

Chemical Co., Milwaukee, USA) were used as the growth carbon sources. 1-butanol<br />

(99.4%, BDH, Inc., Toronto, Canada) was used as internal st<strong>and</strong>ard to prepare liquid<br />

samples for gas chromatography (GC) analyses. Antifoam “B” (BDH, Toronto,<br />

Canada) was added to the bioreactor at a concentration <strong>of</strong> approximately 1.5 g/L to<br />

prevent foam formation.<br />

<strong>Experimental</strong> observations in this study confirmed that the<br />

cells do not grow on Antifoam “B”. The effect <strong>of</strong> Antifoam “B” on mass transfer was<br />

not studied.<br />

3.2 Growth <strong>of</strong> Microorganisms<br />

3.2.1 Shake Flask<br />

The microorganisms used in the experiments were Pseudomonas putida (ATCC<br />

23973). To propagate bacteria from the agar plates, a 250-mL Erlenmeyer flask with<br />

100-150 mL sterile medium containing a certain amount <strong>of</strong> substrate (ethanol or benzyl<br />

33

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