The performance of a lab-scale biotrickling filter (BTF) inoculated with a mixed fungal consortium was investigated for the simultaneous abatement of 2-ethylhexanol; a hydrophobic semi-volatile organic compound (SVOC), and propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME). The BTF performance was investigated in the presence of lipopeptide-type biosurfactant, surfactin. The effect of surfactin on the removal efficiency and elimination capacity was examined at stretched inlet loading rates (LR): 1.04 to 15.7 and 3.2–48 g m⁻³ h⁻¹ of PGME and 2-ethylhexanol, respectively. Seeding the BTF with 50 mg L⁻¹ of surfactin maintained high and consistent removal efficiencies of PGME and 2-ethylhexanol up to LRs of 15.7 and 32 g m⁻³ h⁻¹, with removal efficiencies of 98.5 and 99%, respectively. Once the LR of 2-ethylhexanol increased to 48 g m⁻³ h⁻¹, a substrate inhibition was observed, accompanied by a sudden decrease in removal efficiency from 99.2 to 62.3%. At the same LR, the BTF performance was improved by reseeding 100 mg L⁻¹ of surfactin, hence, reinstated the removal efficiency of 2-ethylhexanol to 92.7% and achieving a maximum elimination capacity of 44.5 g m⁻³ h⁻¹. This enhanced SVOC uptake rate was further confirmed by a considerable increase in reaction rate constant from 0.005 to 0.017 s⁻¹. A batch study was also conducted at the end of the experimental run to better understand the correlation between surfactin concentrations and the time-dependent partition coefficient of 2-ethylhexanol. Biofilm microbial community structure revealed relative abundancy of 72 and 28% of Trichoderma asperellum and Fusarium solani, respectively. The findings of this study show for the first time that the removal of a semi-VOC such as 2-ethylhexanol is feasible in the presence of surfactin and hence improving the bioavailability of hydrophobic semi-VOC.

研究了同时接种2-真菌己醇的实验室规模生物滴滤滤池（BTF）的性能。疏水性半挥发性有机化合物（SVOC）和丙二醇单甲醚（PGME）。在脂肽型生物表面活性剂表面活性剂的存在下研究了BTF的性能。表面活性素对延长的进口负荷率（LR）分别为PGME和2-乙基己醇1.04至15.7和3.2–48 g m ^-3 h ^-1的去除效率和消除能力的影响。用50 mg L ^-1的表面活性素对BTF进行播种可保持PGME和2-乙基己醇的高且一致的去除效率，直至LRs为15.7和32 g m ^-3 h ^-1，去除效率分别为98.5和99％。一旦2-乙基己醇的LR增加至48g m ^-3 h ^-1，观察到底物抑制，同时去除效率突然从99.2％降低至62.3％。在相同的LR下，通过重新接种100 mg L ^-1表面活性素可以提高BTF性能，因此，将2-乙基己醇的去除效率恢复至92.7％，最大清除能力为44.5 g m ^-3 h ^-1。反应速率常数从0.005到0.017 s ^-1的显着增加，进一步证实了这种提高的SVOC摄取率。在实验结束时还进行了批量研究，以更好地了解表面活性素浓度与2-乙基己醇随时间变化的分配系数之间的关系。生物膜微生物群落结构显示相对丰富度分别为72％和28％的曲霉木霉和茄镰刀菌。这项研究的发现首次表明，在存在表面活性素的情况下，去除半挥发性有机化合物（如2-乙基己醇）是可行​​的，从而提高了疏水性半挥发性有机化合物的生物利用度。