Bacteria Supported on Carbon-Coated Monoliths for Water Denitrification
David Espinosa-Iglesias,
Esther Bailón-García,
Mª Isidora Bautista-Toledo,
Francisco Carrasco-Marín,
Agustín F. Pérez-Cadenas
Affiliations
David Espinosa-Iglesias
Carbon Materials Research Group, Inorganic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071 Granada, Spain
Esther Bailón-García
Carbon Materials Research Group, Inorganic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071 Granada, Spain
Mª Isidora Bautista-Toledo
Carbon Materials Research Group, Inorganic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071 Granada, Spain
Francisco Carrasco-Marín
Carbon Materials Research Group, Inorganic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071 Granada, Spain
Agustín F. Pérez-Cadenas
Carbon Materials Research Group, Inorganic Chemistry Department, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Campus Fuentenueva s/n, ES18071 Granada, Spain
Escherichia coli bacteria were grown inside the channels of cordierite monoliths previously coated with a very good adhered carbon layer. These monolithic structures were tested at room temperature for the nitrate elimination of water solutions working as a batch monolithic bioreactor and showed very good results, as 100% of the nitrates and nitrites were completely removed in the used experimental conditions. Different rate flows of bacteria growth and nitrate elimination were studied, showing that the higher the flow velocity, the faster the nitrate elimination. Finally, the reproducibility tests confirmed the good performance of the proposed bioreactor.
