BIODEGRADATION OF PENTACHLOROPHENOL IN SOIL AMENDED WITH THE WHITE-ROT FUNGUS PHANEROCHAETE-CHRYSOSPORIUM

The effects of bioaugmentation of pentachlorophenol (PCP)-contaminated soil with the fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium was evaluated using a chemical mass balance approach. While there was no observed PCP remo val for the unamended soil, 93% of the initial mass of PCP was removed within 56 days in soil amended with P. chrysosporium-inoculated cornc obs. Within the same incubation period, approximately 58% of the initi al mass of PCP was removed from soil amended with uninoculated corncob s. PCP removal followed first order kinetics with rate constants of 0. 04 +/- 0.017 day(-1), 0.06 +/- 0.015 day(-1), and 0.018 +/- 0.006 day( -1) for PCP contaminated soils amended with fungus-inoculated sterile corncobs, fungus-inoculated nonsterile corncobs, and uninoculated nons terile corncobs, respectively. Comparison of the nonsterile systems in dicated that the presence of the fungus increased the first order remo val rate constant by more than 200% compared to the uninoculated syste m; The extent of PCP mineralization after 56 days of incubation was 7% , 17%, and 8% for PCP contaminated soil amended with fungus-inoculated sterile corncobs, fungus-inoculated nonsterile corncobs, and uninocul ated nonsterile corncobs, respectively. The extent of bound residue fo rmation was 13%, 19%, and 27% for PCP contaminated soil amended with f ungus-inoculated sterile corncobs, fungus-inoculated nonsterile cornco bs, and uninoculated nonsterile corncobs, respectively. Mass balance a nalyses indicated that soil aeration may enhance removal of PCP and/or its chemical intermediates through a process of facilitated transport and/or volatilization.