Biodegradation kinetics of LAS in river water

This article reports the biodegradation kinetics of linear alkylbenzene sul fonates (LAS) in river water. The authors used the 'river die-away' test me thod and high performance liquid chromatography to monitor LAS concentratio ns as functions of time in a series of tests systems. Controlled variables included initial LAS concentrations and incubation temperature. The kinetic parameters computed from the experimental data demonstrated strong correla tions (r(2) > 0.99) with theoretical values computed from the kinetic model presented in this paper. The proposed model accurately predicts concentrat ions of non-biodegradable substrate and the maximum specific microbial grow th rate. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.