Fig 1.
Schematic diagram of the packed-bed biofilm reactor [1) Air supply; 2) Air rotameter; 3) Air filter; 4) Porous glass diffuser; 5) Liquid input; 6) Peristaltic pump; 7) Packed-bed column; 8) Liquid output; 9) Condenser; 10) Exit gas].
Fig 2.
Scanning electron micrographs of tezontle stones (A) without biofilm (60×) and (B–D) with biofilm (60×, 5000×, and 8000×).
Fig 3.
Biomass immobilized on tezontle stone particles and MTBE and COD concentrations of effluents at different hydraulic retention times.
Fig 4.
MTBE- and COD-removal efficiency at different hydraulic retention times.
Fig 5.
Dependence of volumetric removal rate on volumetric loading rate.
(A) MTBE; (B) COD.
Fig 6.
Dependence of specific removal rate on volumetric loading rate.
(A) MTBE; (B) COD.
Table 1.
Relative abundance of bacterial strains that constitute IPN-120526 consortium in the inoculum and in the packed-bed bioreactor
Fig 7.
(A) Chromatogram and (B) ESI-TOF/MS spectrum of the effluent samples from the packed-bed reactor at HRT = 4.1 h.
Fig 8.
Toxicity tests on bacterial strains of influent and effluents at different hydraulic retention times.
Table 2.
EC50 values obtained in the microbial growth inhibition tests.
Table 3.
Relative germination percentage (RG%), relative growth index (RGI) and germination index (GI) averages and toxicity categories of influent and effluent samples.