Oa. Oconnor et Ly. Young, EFFECTS OF 6 DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL-GROUPS AND THEIR POSITION ON THE BACTERIAL METABOLISM OF MONOSUBSTITUTED PHENOLS UNDER ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS, Environmental science & technology, 30(5), 1996, pp. 1419-1428
The biodegradability of phenol and all isomers of aminophenol (AP), ch
lorophenol (CP), hydroxybenzoate (HE), dihydroxybenzene (DHB), methylp
henol (MP), and nitrophenol (NP)were examined under denitrifying and m
ethanogenic conditions. All isomers of CP and NP inhibited denitrifica
tion, while each NP isomer was reduced to AP under methanogenic condit
ions. All CPs were stoichiometrically mineralized to CH4. All AP isome
rs were mineralized under denitrifying conditions, while only the 4-AP
isomer was biodegraded under methanogenic conditions. Under denitrify
ing conditions, the 1,3-DHB and 1,4-DHB isomers were mineralized, whil
e the 1,2-DHB was persistent. 1,2-DHB was reductively dehydroxylated t
o phenol under methanogenic conditions. All MPs were mineralized under
both anaerobic conditions. 2-MP incubated under methanogenic conditio
ns and the 4-MP incubated under denitrifying conditions underwent meth
yl group oxidation to 2-hydroxybenzyl alcohol and 4-hydroxybenzoate, r
espectively. All HE isomers incubated under both anaerobic conditions
produced stoichiometric quantities of N-2 and CH4. These results sugge
st that the anaerobic condition and the nature of the substituent can
influence the metabolism and toxicity of phenolic compounds.