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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2004, p. 4621-4628, Vol. 70, No. 8
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.8.4621-4628.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Development and Evaluation of an Online CO2 Evolution Test and a Multicomponent Biodegradation Test System

Uwe Strotmann,1* Peter Reuschenbach,2 Helmut Schwarz,2 and Udo Pagga2

Department of Environmental Engineering, Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen, University of Applied Sciences, 45877 Gelsenkirchen,1 BASF Aktiengesellschaft, 67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany2

Received 20 January 2004/ Accepted 23 April 2004

Well-established biodegradation tests use biogenously evolved carbon dioxide (CO2) as an analytical parameter to determine the ultimate biodegradability of substances. A newly developed analytical technique based on the continuous online measurement of conductivity showed its suitability over other techniques. It could be demonstrated that the method met all criteria of established biodegradation tests, gave continuous biodegradation curves, and was more reliable than other tests. In parallel experiments, only small variations in the biodegradation pattern occurred. When comparing the new online CO2 method with existing CO2 evolution tests, growth rates and lag periods were similar and only the final degree of biodegradation of aniline was slightly lower. A further test development was the unification and parallel measurement of all three important summary parameters for biodegradation—i.e., CO2 evolution, determination of the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)—in a multicomponent biodegradation test system (MCBTS). The practicability of this test method was demonstrated with aniline. This test system had advantages for poorly water-soluble and highly volatile compounds and allowed the determination of the carbon fraction integrated into biomass (heterotrophic yield). The integrated online measurements of CO2 and BOD systems produced continuous degradation curves, which better met the stringent criteria of ready biodegradability (60% biodegradation in a 10-day window). Furthermore the data could be used to calculate maximal growth rates for the modeling of biodegradation processes.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen, Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Applied Sciences, Neidenburger Str. 10, 45877 Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Phone: 49-209-9596-142. Fax: 49-209-9596-144. E-mail: uwe.strotmann{at}fh-gelsenkirchen.de.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2004, p. 4621-4628, Vol. 70, No. 8
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.8.4621-4628.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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