Removal of Di-n-butyl Phthalate Using Immobilized Microbial Cells*

The biodegradation of di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) using immobilized microbial cells was carried out in an internal airlift loop reactor with ceramic honeycomb supports. A strain that is capable of degrading DBP was isolated from the activated sludge and identified as Bacillus sp. using 16S rDNA sequential analysis. Bacillus sp. could be rapidly attached onto the ceramic honeycomb supports. The immobilized cells could effectively degrade DBP in batch and continuous experiments. When the influent concentration of DBP was 50mg.L-1, the effluent DBP reached less than 1mg.L-1 with 6h hydraulic retention time (HRT) in continuous experiment. The immobilized microbial cells could grow and accumulate through the biodegradation of DBP, and the rate of degradation is accordingly increased. The possible pathway of DBP biodegradation using immobilized cells was tentatively proposed.