Biodegradation of BTEX in a two phase partitioning system - Use of a biodegradable solvent.

International audienceA biodegradable solvent was used in a two-phase aqueous-organic system for hydrophonic VOC (volatile organic compounds) elimination by actived sludge. Experiments, conducted with hexadecane as solvent and toluene as VOC, showed that toluene removed silmutaneously with part of the organic solvent elimination; cells were readily able to completely consume the toluene available at low and even at high consentrations within 48 h, even if they were not previously pre-adapted to these substrates