TY - JOUR
T1 - Modeling biodegradation of nonylphenol
AU - Jahan, Kauser
AU - Ordóñez, Raúl
AU - Ramachandran, Ravi
AU - Balzer, Shira
AU - Stern, Michael
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements This work has been funded by a grant (DUE no. 0097887) provided by the National Science Foundation and Rowan University. However, this study has not been subjected to the Foundation’s peer and administrative review and therefore may not necessarily reflect the view of the agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
PY - 2008/8
Y1 - 2008/8
N2 - Nonylphenol is the primary breakdown product of nonylphenol ethoxylates, a certain class of nonionic surfactants. Nonylphenol has been found to be toxic to aquatic organisms and has been suspected of being harmful to humans due to its xenoestrogenic properties. Although there are known releases of nonylphenol to the environment, there is a lack of data describing the extent of biodegradation. This study thus focuses on much needed information on the biodegradation kinetics of nonylphenol. Oxygen uptake, cell growth and nonylphenol removal data were collected using batch reactors in an electrolytic respirometer. Nonylphenol removal, cell growth and substrate removal rates were modeled by the Monod, Haldane, Aiba, Webb, and Yano equations. The differential equations were solved by numerical integration to simulate cell growth, substrate removal, and oxygen uptake as a function of time. All models provided similar results with the Haldane model providing the best fit. The values of the kinetic parameters and the activation energy for nonylphenol were determined. These values can be used for predicting fate and transport of nonylphenol in the environment. The validity of applying each model to the biodegradation of nonylphenol was analyzed by computing the R 2 values of each equation.
AB - Nonylphenol is the primary breakdown product of nonylphenol ethoxylates, a certain class of nonionic surfactants. Nonylphenol has been found to be toxic to aquatic organisms and has been suspected of being harmful to humans due to its xenoestrogenic properties. Although there are known releases of nonylphenol to the environment, there is a lack of data describing the extent of biodegradation. This study thus focuses on much needed information on the biodegradation kinetics of nonylphenol. Oxygen uptake, cell growth and nonylphenol removal data were collected using batch reactors in an electrolytic respirometer. Nonylphenol removal, cell growth and substrate removal rates were modeled by the Monod, Haldane, Aiba, Webb, and Yano equations. The differential equations were solved by numerical integration to simulate cell growth, substrate removal, and oxygen uptake as a function of time. All models provided similar results with the Haldane model providing the best fit. The values of the kinetic parameters and the activation energy for nonylphenol were determined. These values can be used for predicting fate and transport of nonylphenol in the environment. The validity of applying each model to the biodegradation of nonylphenol was analyzed by computing the R 2 values of each equation.
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U2 - 10.1007/s11267-007-9148-4
DO - 10.1007/s11267-007-9148-4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:42249113530
SN - 1567-7230
VL - 8
SP - 395
EP - 404
JO - Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Focus
JF - Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Focus
IS - 3-4
ER -