Abstract
The purpose of this work was to investigate the anaerobic transformation ofo-xylene in a laboratory biofilm system with nitrate as an electron acceptor.o-Xylene was degraded cometabolically with toluene as primary carbon source. A mass balance showed thato-xylene was not mineralized but transformed.o-Methyl-benzalcohol ando-methyl-benzaldehyde were identified as intermediates ofo-xylene transformation which resulted in the formation ofo-methyl-benzoic acid as an end product. A cross inhibition phenomenon was observed between toluene ando-xylene. The presence of toluene was necessary for stimulation ofo-xylene transformation, but above a toluene concentration of 1–3 mg/L theo-xylene removal rate dramatically decreased. In returno-xylene inhibited the toluene degradation at concentrations above 2–3 mg/L.
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Arcangeli, JP., Arvin, E. Cometabolic transformation ofo-xylene in a biofilm system under nitrate reducing conditions. Biodegradation 6, 19–27 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00702295
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00702295