ABSTRACT
The performance and microbial communities of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) treatment using a biotrickling filter (BTF) that was inoculated with activated sewage sludge were investigated. The BTF successfully started up within 23 days when the inlet concentration of MTBE was 100 mg·m-3 and empty bed retention time was 60 s, with 70% removal efficiency (RE). Under steady-state conditions, an elimination capacity (EC) and a mineralization ratio of 13.47 g·(m3·h)-1 and 68% were achieved, respectively. The ECmax was 21.03 g·(m3·h)-1 according to the Haldane model, and a KS of 0.16 g·m-3 and KI of 0.99 g·m-3 were obtained. High-throughput sequencing was used to identify the community structure of the mixed microbial consortium in the BTF. The results indicated that Methylibium sp. (11.33%) and Blastocatella sp. (9.95%) were the dominant bacteria.
