Soybean Oil Biodegradation Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa Attached on Porous Ceramic or Polyurethane

Soybean oil biodegradation using Pseudomonas aeruginosa, among suspended growth, attached growth onto porous ceramic and polyurethane foam (PUF) microbial carriers, was investigated. Cooking oil in wastewater, simulated by artificial substrate, could be degraded (>99%) after incubation using batch treatment. The maximum cooking oil removed was 3.1 kg/m(3)/days (0.43 g oil/g cells/days) by P. aeruginosa attached to PUF in a semi-continuous reactor. The oil degradation time required was the shortest using P. aeruginosa attached growth onto PUF (kinetic parameter, half-life, t(1/2) = 12.66 h), followed by suspended P. aeruginosa (t(1/2) = 15.03 h), and the degradation time was the longest with P. aeruginosa attached to porous ceramic (t(1/2) = 16.42 h).