Determination of Monod kinetic coefficients for volatile hydrophobic organic compounds

A new procedure is presented to determine Monod kinetic coefficients and the microbial yield coefficient for volatile hydrophobic compounds such as phenanthrene. Batch experiments were conducted with a mixed culture capable of degrading phenanthrene. The phenanthrene disappearance and carbon dioxide production were monitored with time. A maximum likelihood estimator was formulated to fit the set of equations that describe the system to the measured data. The model takes into account a number of processes such as partition onto the apparatus, volatilization, and partition onto the biomass. The parameters required to describe these processes were obtained by independent experiments. The yield coefficient could be determined within a small range. However, the specific growth rate and the half-saturation constant were found to vary widely, with pairs of them describing the system adequately. It was shown that partition and volatilization processes can significantly affect the determination of the yield and Monod kinetic coefficients and need to be taken into account.