a b s t r ac tHydrocarbon pollution in salty media is an important and long-lasting problem worldwide, especially it is not attended to. A mixed culture constituted by Xanthomonas sp., Acinetobacter bouvetii, Shewanella sp. and Defluvibacter lusatiensis was employed to degrade a hydrocarbon blend, composed of hexadecane (HXD), phenanthrene (PHE) and pyrene (PYR) (25:1:1 v/w/w). The degradation was assayed in two salty conditions (0-35 g L -1 NaCl) and the kinetics were described by the reparametrized Gompertz model. The mixed culture was halotolerant and able to degrade the three hydrocarbons, both in serological bottles and in an airlift bioreactor (ALB) in the presence and absence of salt. Hydrocarbon degradation in serological bottles was preferable to HXD and then to PHE and PYR. The presence of salt decreased the Gompertz parameter values for bacterial growth and hydrocarbon degradation. When salty media were used, the maximum degradation extent diminished in both serological bottles and ALB. Hydrodynamic was fundamental to enhance the hydrocarbon degradation efficiency, that is, pneumatic agitation provided in ALB enhanced the interfacial surface reducing the culture time from 14 to 5 d, almost cancelling the lag time required for hydrocarbon degradation. Our results suggest the use of ALB as a good method to remediate hydrocarbon-contaminated water bodies.
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