ABSTRACT
A fixed film growth process has been effective in the removal of phenol at various concentrations. Wastes bearing significant amounts of phenol present a difficult situation for application of biode-gradation methods. Phenol can be removed with biological treatment, however inhibition and toxicity effects due to phenol can be observed at low concentrations. High phenol concentration wastes thus provide a difficult problem in waste removal, for which dilution becomes a necessity. Dilution can be accomplished by simply maintaining a high enough dilution ratio in a mixed reactor, however tank volumes can become prohibitively large when the flow is large or the phenol concentration is quite high. Fixed film growth has not been the primary choice for biological treatment of phenol bearing waste. The process does however have the ability to handle moderate shock loads, and is relatively simple to operate in practice. The initial loading of the rotating fixed-film reactor was entirely due to glucose.
