Enhancement of methyl tert-butyl ether degradation by the addition of readily metabolizable organic substrates.

Supplements with readily metabolizable organic substrates were investigated to increase the biomass and enhance degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) due to the low biomass yield of MTBE which has been one of the factors for low-rate MTBE degradation. The influence of various organic substrates on the rate of aerobic degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) by Methylibium petroleiphilum PM1 was investigated, and only yeast extract (YE), beef extract and tryptone exhibited stimulatory effect. With the concentration of each substrate being 100 mg/L, the average MTBE removal rate could increase to 1.29, 1.20 and 1.04 mg/(Lh), respectively, in comparison with 0.71 mg/(Lh) when carried out in medium without addition. The stimulatory effects of YE addition, as well as induction period required by MTBE degradation, varied dramatically with the storage conditions, pre-culture medium and concentrations of the inoculums. The extent of stimulatory effects of YE might be closely related to the proportion of induction period in the total time of MTBE-degradation. The removal efficiency increased from about 50% to 90.5% with the addition of YE in a packed-bed reactor loaded with calcium alginate immobilized cells.