LAUSR

Abstract In the present study, we present the biodegradation of trichloroethylene (TCE) for the first time using pure bacterial strain of Rhodococcus opacus PD630. TCE utilized as the sole carbon substrate by R. opacus in single phase system and was reached to highest specific growth rate of 0.015 h−1 at the concentration of 75 mg L−1. To further enhance the degradation performance even at high concentration (1000 mg L−1), two-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB) was developed. Silicone oil (20%, v/v) was selected as non-aqueous phase solvent to achieve high metabolic activity of bacteria. Furthermore, the experimental results of TCE degradation and specific TCE utilization rate were fitted to various kinetic models. Our experimental results clearly revealed that TPPB system having R. opacus as biological source and silicone oil as solvent was highly efficient and successful for removing high concentrated TCE compared with single phase system.