Removal of surfactant solubilized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Phanerochaete chrysosporium in a rotating biological contactor reactor

Abstract

White rot fungi can oxidize surfactant solubilized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of immobilized white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, to remove surfactant Tween 80 solubilized PAH i.e. phenanthrene, pyrene and benzo(α)pyrene in a rotating biological contactor (RBC) reactor. Results indicated that the immobilized P. chrysosporium in the RBC reactor system in continuous operation could effectively remove the three tested PAH at specific hydraulic loading rates and concentrations tested for each individual PAH. Batch operation of RBC reactor showed that the immobilized P. chrysosporium was stable and effective for the eight successive batch treatments of PAH in solution medium i.e. PAH removal was greater than 90% after 60 h, although only low levels of ligninolytic enzyme activity were detected. The removal of phenanthrene and pyrene in solution medium has been found to be a first order reaction in batch operation. A mass balance calculation indicated that biological oxidation was the main factor for removal of benzo(α)pyrene i.e. 95.7% in the RBC reactor. However, for phenanthrene and pyrene, both biological oxidation (i.e. 49 and 56%, respectively) and RBC disc foam adsorption (i.e. 44 and 34%, respectively) made a significant contribution to the removal of PAH.