Abstract

Biodegradation of terephthalic acid (TA) by polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-alginate immobilized Pseudomonas sp. was carried out in a packed-bed reactor. The effect of inlet TA concentration on biodegradation was investigated at 30°C, pH 7 and flow rate of 20 ml/min. The effects of flow rate on mass transfer and biodegradation rate of TA were analyzed with the assumption of first-order reaction kinetics. Based on the experimental data, various external mass transfer correlations were evaluated and the correlations J_D=5.7Re^-0.3 was found to be adequate to predict the biodegradation of TA. The intrinsic biodegradation rate constants and external mass transfer constants were calculated and the combined effects on the whole biodegradation of TA were also investigated.

Key words: Terephthalic acid, mass transfer analysis, PVA-alginate immobilization, packed-bed reactor