A NOVEL POROUS NYLON BIOCARRIER FOR IMMOBILIZED BACTERIA

A highly porous nylon biocarrier was developed to support immobilized bacteria in bioreactors used to treat liquid wastes. Porosity analyses and scanning electron microscopy showed microbial colonization of acc essible pores typically in the range of 100 to 1,200 mu m, with some a s large as 3.9 mm. A bench-scale packed-bed reactor achieved a p-nitro phenol (PNP) removal rate of 5.95 kg of PNP m(-3) day(-1) for wastes c ontaining 1,200 mg of PNP liter(-1). Complete mixing of the biocarrier bed to remove excess surface biomass was routinely achieved with simp le air injection. These porous polymer biocarriers are promising as mi crobial supports in liquid-waste treatment and bioremediation applicat ions.