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Rapid Biodegradation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) by Pure Bacterial Cultures

Arabi Rahele نويسنده , Bemanian Shahnaz نويسنده , Taherzadeh Mohammad Jafar نويسنده

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Two pure bacterial strains capable of rapid degrading methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) were isolatedfrom an industrial wastewater treatment plant, identified and characterized. These strains are able to grow on MTBE as the sole carbon and energy sou ces and completely mineralize it to the biomass and carbon dioxide. The strains were identified as Bacillus cereus and Klebsiella terrigena. Both strains are able to grow in the presence of48 gl-l MTBE in water, which is almost the maximum concentration ofMTBE in the water. They were able to completely degrade 10 gl-l MTBE in less than a day. The specific degradation rate of MTBE at optimum conditions were 5.89 and 5.78g(MTBE) gtcells)" h-1 for B. cereus and K. terrigena, respectively. The biomass yield was 0.085 and 0.076 ssי. respectively. The cultivations were carried out successfully at 25, 30 and 37°C, while they showed the best performance at 37 °C. Neither ofthe strains was able to grow and degrade MTBE anaerobically.

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