Abstract: A method and apparatus for removing select gas contaminants is disclosed. The apparatus is a bioreactor having a chamber for containing liquid and a liquid positioned therein, the liquid forming a column having a top and a bottom surface defining a height. The bioreactor further has a gas dispersal unit positioned in the column and a selected biomass suspended in the liquid, where the biomass is selected to metabolize the gas contaminant requiring degradation. The method includes feeding a select gas contaminant having a low Henry's coefficient into the gas dispersal unit to produce a stream of bubbles containing the gas contaminants, where the gas contaminant is a food source for said biomass, and allowing the stream of bubbles to sparge through and exit the top of said column.

Abstract: This invention pertains to substantially purified cultures of a gram-negative, aerobic, filamentous bacterium with cells ranging in length from 20-200 .mu.m, that accumulates intracellular poly-.beta.-hydroxybutyrate in intracellular granules, and that degrades chlorinated aliphatic compounds such as trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene, as well as phenol and other substituted benzenes. The invention includes the representative strain A-1, which has been deposited at the American Type Culture Collection under the accession number 55581. Also included are methods for using the new bacterium for bioremediation of contaminated environmental sites.