Batch monoethylamine degradation via nitrate respiration

Monoethylamine (MEA) degradation via nitrate respiration was evaluated in batch experiments using suspended growth bacterial cultures grown under low growth rate conditions. It was found that, under the conditions tested, MEA was highly degradable when the initial TOC/MLVSS ratio used in a batch experiment was < 0.35, beyond which, however, MEA inhibition was evident. The composition of the medium solution used to cultivate the bacterial cultures was critical in MEA degradation via nitrate respiration. In this study, the best MEA degradation was attained when cobalt (0.45 mg/l), copper (0.5 mg/l), molybdenum (0.5 mg/l), and yeast extract (1.0 mg/l) were all present in the medium solution. Ammonia was formed as an end product from MEA degradation via nitrate respiration. The MEA-N initially added in a batch experiment could be accounted for as NH+4-N when the assimilatory requirements for nitrogen were negligible during the sampling period.