Bio-Scrubber Performance Equipped with Airlift Parallel Bioreactors (APB’s) for BTX Biodegradation by Wastewater Sludge

A new approach in this work was the biodegradation of Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene (BTX) using Airlift Parallel Bioreactors (APB’s) connected to the Plexiglas Bio-Scrubber (PBS) Modulated with Polyurethane Foam (MPF) as modified sort in the use of mineral pumice as a porous filler Lava rock media. The aeration bioreactors were set up with a microbial consortium of refinery Sludge Effluent Sewer (SES) treatment and nutrient solution. The performance of PBS for BTX removing by APB’s filled with Activated Sludge Effluent Sewer (ASES) in the range of inlet BTX concentrations from 180.7 to 881.8 ppmv in different air pollutions flow rates was tried for two rates: 2.5 & 3.5 L/min  at 30 days Mean Residence Time Distribution (MRTD) for each treatment. The results showed that at inlet pollutant concentrations of [B] = 180.7 ppmv, [T] = 327.4 ppmv & [X] = 297.5 ppmv, the removal efficiency in flow rate 2.5 lit/min was 90.7, 88, and 83.6(%) for benzene, toluene, and xylene, respectively. The amount of removal in flow rate 2.5 lit/min was better than the removal efficiency of 3.5 lit/min due to lower pollution concentration.