BIODEGRADATION OF CHLOROPHENOLS BY IMMOBILIZED PURE-CULTURE MICROORGANISMS

The biodegradation of phenol and chlorophenols by immobilized pure-cul ture cells was conducted by a series of batch reactors. The microorgan isms used in this study were Pseudomonas putida Psuedomonas testostero ni, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Agrobacterium radiobacter. All four sp ecies showed the ortho-cleavage pathway to metabolize chlorophenols. A mong the four species, P. testosteroni, P. putida, and P. aeruginosa c ould effectively remove phenol at 200 mg/l. P. testosteroni could effe ctively remove 2-chlorophenol at 10 mg/l. However, the other three spe cies, P. putida, P. aeruginosa, and A. radiobacter, could not effectiv ely remove 2-chlorophenol. Although 3-chlorophenol is a recalcitrant c ompound, P. testosteroni also could rapidly metabolize 3-chlorophenol at 10 mg/l. The removal of 4-chlorophenol at 10 mg/l by P. testosteron i reached 98% within one day. P. aeruginosa and A. radiobacter also co uld metabolize 4-chlorophenol after 2 and 7 days of lag period, respec tively. Copyright (C) 1996 IAWQ.