Biodegradation of quinoline by gel immobilized Burkholderia sp.

Burkholderia sp, a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobe, capable of degrading quinoline was immobilized in calcium alginate gel beads and used for degrad ation of quinoline in aqueous solution in the reactor. The optimal conditio ns for immobilization of the microorganism, such as alginate concentration, calcium ion concentration, initial cell loading, hardening time and bead s ize, were determined with a view to improving the quinoline degradation rat e. The characteristics of quinoline degradation by immobilized microbial ce lls were investigated. The repeated use of immobilized cells for quinoline degradation was performed and the results revealed that the bioactivity of immobilized cells was stable over 100 h in the repeated batch cultivation f or quinoline degradation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserve d.