Treatment of high-concentration gaseous benzene streams using a novel bioreactor system

A continuous treatment system combining a packed-bed column and a two-phase partitioning bioreactor has been designed to treat high-concentration benzene-containing gas streams. 1-Octadecene was used in a closed loop as an absorbant to scrub benzene in the counter-current column, after which it was transferred to the two-phase partitioning bioreactor to partition benzene into the 1 l aqueous phase for degradation by Klebsiella sp. The solvent was then recirculated back to the absorber. A gas stream containing 20 mg l^–1 benzene at a flow rate of 60 l h^–1 was introduced to the system, and the benzene was degraded at a biological removal efficiency of 87% at steady state.