Biodegradation Kinetics of MTBE in Laboratory Batch and Continuous Flow Reactors

Abstract

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) biodegradation was investigated using a continuously stirred tank reactor with biomass retention (porous pot reactor) operated under aerobic conditions. MTBE was fed to the reactor at an influent concentration of 150 mg/L (1.70 mM). An identical reactor was operated as a killed control under the same conditions. Operation of these reactors demonstrated that removal of MTBE was biological and suggests that biomass retention is critical for effective degradation. MTBE removal exceeded 99.99% when the volatile suspended solids concentration in the reactor was above 600 mg/L. Batch experiments conducted using mixed liquor from the porous pot reactor indicated that the individual rates of biodegradation of MTBE and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) increase with increasing initial concentration. When batch tests were later repeated, the MTBE degradation rates were found to have increased while the TBA degradation rates remained constant. All batch tests confirmed that the degradation rate...