DICHLOROBIPHENYL DEGRADATION BY AN UNCHARACTERIZED PSEUDOMONAS SPECIES, STRAIN CPE1, IN A FIXED-FILM BIOREACTOR

A biofilm of the polychlorobiphenyl degrading Pseudomonas sp. CPE1 str ain, developed on frosted glass beads, was found to be capable of exte nsively dechlorinating dichlorobiphenyls in an aerobic fixed bed biore actor continuously fed with biphenyl. CPE1 biofilm displayed the capab ility of degrading chlorobenzoic acids, the main metabolites of dichlo robiphenyl degradation, that CPE1 strain had never degraded in the sta te of suspended cells. It was not possible to isolate from the bioreac tor broth any microorganisms capable of such degradation activity. Thu s, the dichlorobiphenyl mineralization capability displayed by the bio film system can be ascribed either to CPE1 or CPE1 biovariants which e xhibited new metabolic activities as a consequence of the immobilizati on process. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited.