Cometabolic degradation of toluene and TCE contaminated wastewater in a bench-scale sequencing batch reactor inoculated with immobilized Pseudomonas putida F1

•P. putida F1 strain could be functionally encapsulated in PVA/alginate beads.•PVA/alginate immobilized P. putida F1 strain could be used in an aerobic SBR for cometabolic TCE removal.•Effects of fill time, toluene and TCE concentrations, and metals on cometabolic TCE removal in the aerobic SBR were discussed.•A mathematic model was developed to describe the behavior of cometabolic TCE removal in the aerobic SBR.