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ABSTRACT
The anaerobic biotransformation of TCE was investigated during the granulation process by reducing the HRT and increasing the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and TCE loadings in a 2 l laboratory-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. Anaerobic unacclimated sludge and glucose were used as seed and primary substrate, respectively. Initial granules were developed after 1.5 months of start-up, which grew at an accelerated pace for 7 months and then became fully grown. The effect of operational parameters such as influent TCE concentrations, COD and TCE loading, food to microorganism (F/M) ratio and specific methanogenic activity (SMA) were also considered during granulation. The granular sludge cultivated had a maximum diameter of 2.5 mm and SMA of 1.32 gCOD (gTSS day)−1 while 94% COD and 90% TCE removal efficiencies were achieved when the reactor was operating at loading rates as high as 160 mgTCE (l day)−1 and 14 gCOD (l day)−1, respectively after 230 days of continuos operation. This corresponds to HRT of 0.28 day and F/M ratio of 0.60 gCOD (gTSS day)−1. Kinetic coefficients of k (maximum specific substrate utilization rate), K s (half velocity coefficient), Y (growth yield coefficient) and b (decay coefficient) were determined to be 2.38 mgCOD (mgTSS day)−1, 108 mgCOD l−1, 0.17 mgTSS (mgCOD)−1 and 0.015 day−1, respectively during TCE biotransformation based on glucose-COD during granulation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author would like to express her thanks to TÜBİTAK (The Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council) for financial support under Grant YDABÇAG-485 and to Dokuz Eylül University Support Foundation, Grant No. 0908. 97.02.03.