Biodegradation of Trichloroethylene in Anaerobic Hybrid Reactor

In this study, anaerobic hybrid reactor (AHR) was intensively used for the treatment of synthetic wastewater containing trichloroethylene (TCE) by gradual increment in influent TCE and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations. The acclimatization study revealed that 99.93 +/- 0.13% and 97.81 +/- 0.42% of TCE and COD could be removed at an influent TCE and COD concentrations of 50 and 2000 mg/L, respectively. The maximum yield coefficient (Y-m) was found to be 0.05 mg biomass/mg COD, whereas the maximum specific substrate as COD (q(m) S) and cosubstrate as TCE (q(m) CS) utilization rates were found to be 0.526 mg COD/mg volatile suspended solids (VSS)/day and 0.0125 mg TCE/mg VSS/day, respectively, during the biokinetics study. An optimum hydraulic retention time for the maximum TCE removal was found to be 18 h. The AHR showed high potentiality for the treatment of wastewater containing high concentration of TCE. (c) 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 32: 1055-1060, 2013