Dynamic modeling of an enzymatic membrane reactor for the treatment of xenobiotic compounds

Continuous Decolorization of Acid Blue 62 Solution in an Enzyme Membrane Reactor

This paper focuses on using an enzyme membrane reactor (EMR) for the effective continuous decolorization of Acid Blue 62 (AB62). The following factors were considered for the effective use of Cerrena unicolor laccase immobilized in the EMR volume: the enzyme was stable in six successive runs in a batch reactor; no aeration was necessary; AB62 and the oxidized products were sorbed onto the membrane but were not rejected; and the enzyme was stable in the EMR system. It is obvious that any continuous process must be predictable, and thus, the objective was to verify the process model experimentally. For this reason, a proper isoenzyme kinetic equation was selected and the parameters were evaluated. The obtained kinetic parameters were used to plan processes and to verify their applicability to long-term AB62 decolorization, and a very good agreement between the calculated and the measured data was obtained. In the main designed continuous decolorization process, the conversion reached 98 % and was stable for 4 days. The membrane reactor with C. unicolor laccase appears to be very promising for AB62 decolorization.

Biodegradation of agricultural herbicides in sequencing batch reactors under aerobic or anaerobic conditions

This study investigated the biodegradability of the herbicides isoproturon and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). Two laboratory-scale (2L liquid volume) SBRs were employed: one reactor performing under aerobic and the other under anaerobic conditions. The aerobic SBR was operated at an ambient temperature (22+/-2 degrees C), while the anaerobic SBR was run in the lower mesophilic range (30+/-2 degrees C). Each bioreactor was seeded with a 3:1 mixture (by weight) of fresh sludge and biomass that had been previously exposed to both herbicides. The effect of herbicide concentration on either treatment process was explored at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 48 h, using glucose as a supplemental carbon substrate. Although no isoproturon degradation was observed in either system during the study, complete 2,4-D removal occurred after an acclimation period of approximately 30 d (aerobic SBR) and 70 d (anaerobic SBR). The aerobic reactor achieved complete 2,4-D utilization at feed concentrations up to 500 mg/L. A further increase to 700 mg/L, however, proved to be inhibitory since 2,4-D biodegradation was negligible. On the other hand, the anaerobic SBR was able to degrade 120 mg/L of 2,4-D, which corresponds to 40% of the maximum feed concentration applied. Moreover, glucose was consumed first throughout the experiment in a sequential utilization pattern relating to 2,4-D, with biodegradation of both substrates following closely first-order kinetics.