Rapid Biodegradation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) by Pure Bacterial Cultures

Two pure bacterial strains capable of rapid degrading methyl tert-butyl ether(mtbe) were isolatedfrom an industrial wastewater treatment plant, identified and characterized.these strains are able to grow on mtbe as the sole carbon and energy sou ces and completelymineralize it to the biomass and carbon dioxide. the strains were identified as bacillus cereus andklebsiella terrigena. both strains are able to grow in the presence of48 gl-l mtbe in water, whichis almost the maximum concentration ofmtbe in the water. they were able to completely degrade10 gl-l mtbe in less than a day. the specific degradation rate of mtbe at optimum conditionswere 5.89 and 5.78g(mtbe) gtcells) h-1 for b. cereus and k. terrigena, respectively. the biomassyield was 0.085 and 0.076 ss'. respectively. the cultivations were carried out successfully at 25, 30and 37°c, while they showed the best performance at 37 °c. neither ofthe strains was able to growand degrade mtbe anaerobically.