Reactor design for hazardous waste treatment using a white rot fungus

Various nutrient media and reactor configurations were explored in order to grow the white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium, induce its active enzyme system, develop kinetic data for the degradation of 2-chlorophenol and use chemical engineering analysis to design an effective reactor. Preliminary experiments indicated that the biodegradation rate was improved by a factor of 40 when the fungus was immobilized. As a result, the project focused on a packed-bed reactor employing a silica-based porous support for the fungus, and a well-mixed reactor employing alginate beads as the immobilizing medium. Both were very effective in degrading 2-chlorophenol at inlet concentrations up to 520 ppm. Apparent Michaelis-Menten kinetic rate constants were developed for both reactors, which to our knowledge are the first reactor design parameters to be published for this fungus for treating a hazardous waste.