The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Bead design for biodegradation of 2-chlorophenol using microorganisms entrapped in alginate gel
Author:	Lakhwala, Fayaz
View Online:	njit-etd1988-020 (vii, 52 pages ~ 2.0 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry and Environmental Science
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Chemical Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Sofer, Samir S. (Committee chair) Lewandowski, Gordon (Committee member) Trattner, Richard B. (Committee member)
Date:	1988
Keywords:	Chlorophenols--Biodegradation. Colloids.
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	The performance of immobilized cell reactors varies with a number of parameters, one of which is proper bead design. A mixed microbial population from a waste water treatment plant was immobilized in calcium alginate gel. The viability of these organisms was studied in a microassay reactor by varying parameters such as concentration of calcium chloride, concentration of sodium alginate, temperature of operation, biomass concentration within the beads and concentration of a model compound (2-chlorophenol). The effect of storage on viability over a period of three months was also investigated. It was found possible to have access to active biomass by drying the beads and storing at 4°C. In addition, polyvinyl alcohol gel and diatomaceous earth beads were also tried as supports for microbe immobilization. Rates of removal of the substrate (2-chlorophenol) were followed in an air sparged semibatch reactor of volume 300 ml, at 37°C. It was found that 40 percent of the removal was  by stripping and about 60 percent was due to biooxidation.