BIODEGRADATION OF PHENOL USING THE SELF-CYCLING FERMENTATION (SCF) PROCESS

Self-cycling fermentation (SCF) in a stirred tank reactor was applied to the biodegradation of phenol by Pseudomonas putida. The technique r esulted in stable and repeatable performance. Complete substrate consu mption was achieved under all operating conditions investigated. SCF r esulted in substrate utilization rates as high as 14.5 kg of phenol pe r cubic meter of fermenter volume per day of fermentation, higher than those that have been reported for batch, CSTR, and packed column ferm enters. A mathematical model of the self-cycling fermentation process was expanded to include inhibitory substrate-microorganism combination s, and was shown to provide a good fit to both end-of-cycle and intrac ycle experimental data. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.