Degradation of Chlorophenols Using Pentachlorophenol-Degrading Bacteria Sphingomonas chlorophenolica in a Batch Reactor

Bioremediation of chlorophenol-contaminated sawmill soil using pilot-scale bioreactors under consecutive anaerobic-aerobic conditions

Chlorophenols (CPs), including pentachlorophenol (PCP), are chemicals of concern due to their toxicity and persistence. Here we describe a successful reactor-based remediation of CP-contaminated soil and assess changes in the toxicity patterns and bacterial communities during the remediation. The remediation consisted of separating half of the contaminated soil to be ground (samples M) in order to test whether the grinding expedited the remediation, the other half was left unground (samples P). Both soils were mixed with wastewater treatment sludge to increase their bacterial diversity and facilitate the degradation of CPs, and the resultant mixtures were placed in 2 bioreactors, M and P, operated for 16 months under anaerobic conditions to favor dehalogenation and for an additional 16 months under aerobic conditions to achieve complete mineralization. Samples were taken every 4 months for toxicity and microbial analyses. The results showed a 64% removal of total CPs (ΣCPs) in reactor P after just 18 months of remediation, whereas similar depletion in reactor M occurred after ∼25 months, indicating that the grinding decelerated the remediation. By the end of the experiment, both reactors achieved 93.5-95% removal. The toxicity tests showed a decrease in toxicity as the remediation progressed. The succession of bacterial communities over time was significantly associated with pH, anaerobic/aerobic phase and the concentration of the majority of CP congeners. Our data indicate that the supplementation of contaminated soil with sludge and further incubation in pilot-scale bioreactors under consecutive anaerobic-aerobic conditions proved to be effective at the remediation of CP-contaminated soil.

Multi-substrate biodegradation of chlorophenols by defined microbial consortium

In the present study, a defined mixed microbial consortium was investigated for their ability to utilize three different monochlorophenols (MCPs) and 2,4-DCP individually and in the mixture. None of the individual strains were able to utilize 3-CP and 4-CP, but when they were mixed to form defined consortium, they have shown great potential and degradation of high concentration of 3-CP and 4-CP. Spectrophotometric analysis of metabolites during MCPs degradation establishes the presence of 2-chloromaleylacetate. Multi-substrate degradation study of 2,4-DCP in the presence of three MCPs showed the great prospect of microbial consortium for in situ bioremediation. During multi-substrate degradation, the biodegradation rate (mg L-1 day-1) was observed in the order of 2,4-DCP > 2CP > 3CP > 4CP. Biodegradation kinetic of three MCPs using Andrew's model showed maximum removal rate (R m) of 2.78, 0.91, 1.82 mg L-1 h-1 for 2-CP, 3-CP and 4-CP, respectively.

Pentachlorophenol degradation by Janibacter sp., a new actinobacterium isolated from saline sediment of arid land

Many pentachlorophenol- (PCP-) contaminated environments are characterized by low or elevated temperatures, acidic or alkaline pH, and high salt concentrations. PCP-degrading microorganisms, adapted to grow and prosper in these environments, play an important role in the biological treatment of polluted extreme habitats. A PCP-degrading bacterium was isolated and characterized from arid and saline soil in southern Tunisia and was enriched in mineral salts medium supplemented with PCP as source of carbon and energy. Based on 16S rRNA coding gene sequence analysis, the strain FAS23 was identified as Janibacter sp. As revealed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis, FAS23 strain was found to be efficient for PCP removal in the presence of 1% of glucose. The conditions of growth and PCP removal by FAS23 strain were found to be optimal in neutral pH and at a temperature of 30 °C. Moreover, this strain was found to be halotolerant at a range of 1-10% of NaCl and able to degrade PCP at a concentration up to 300 mg/L, while the addition of nonionic surfactant (Tween 80) enhanced the PCP removal capacity.

Development of genus-specific primers for better understanding the diversity and population structure of Sphingomonas in soils

Genus Sphingomonas has received increasing attentions due to its somewhat unique metabolic versatilities in the contaminated environment. However, due to the lack of genus-specific primers, the ecological significance of Sphingomonas in polluted soils has been rarely documented by 16S rDNA finger-printing methods. In this study, three genus-specific primer sets targeted at the 16S rRNA gene of Sphingomonas were developed and their specificities were tested with four contaminated soils from Shenfu petroleum-wastewater irrigation zone by constructing clone libraries, amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) and sequencing the represented ARDRA patterns. Meanwhile, the newly designed primer sets and a previously reported primer set were compared, and the results showed that the newly developed primer set SA/429f-933r could detect a larger spectrum (90%) of Sphingomonas strains with higher specificity. Despite the superiority of primer set SA/429f-933r in specifically detecting Sphingomonas from contaminated soils, we cannot blink the fact that different primer sets preferentially amplified different dominant species. Therefore, two or more primer sets are recommended for evaluating the diversity and population structure of genus Sphingomonas. Additionally, a proportion (9.7%) of the cloned sequences discovered in this study were different from known Sphingomonas sequences, suggesting that new Sphingomonas sequences might present in soils from Shenfu irrigation zone.

Removal of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol by bacterial isolates from the secondary sludge of pulp and paper mill

2,4,5-trichlorophenol (2,4,5-TCP) mineralizing bacteria were isolated from the secondary sludge of pulp and paper industry. These isolates used 2,4,5-TCP as a source of carbon and energy and were capable of degrading this compound, as indicated by stoichimetric release of chloride and biomass formation. Based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis, these bacteria were identified as Kocuria sp. (CL2), Bacillus pumillus (CL5), Pseudomonas stutzeri (CL7). HPLC analysis revealed that these isolates were able to degrade 2,4,5-TCP at higher concentrations (600 mg/l or 3.0 mM). A consortia of these isolates completely removed 2,4,5-TCP from the sludge obtained from pulp and paper mill within 2 weeks when supplemented at a rate of 100 mg l(-1) . Bacterial consortium also significantly reduced absorbable organic halogen (AOX) and extractable organic halogen (EOX) by 61% and 63%, respectively from the sludge. These isolates have high potential to remove 2,4,5-TCP and may be used for remediation of pulp paper mill waste containing 2,4,5-TCP.

Biodegradation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol in a packed-bed biofilm reactor equipped with an internal net draft tube riser for aeration and liquid circulation

For the aerobic biodegradation of the fungicide and defoliant 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), a bench-scale packed-bed bioreactor equipped with a net draft tube riser for liquid circulation and oxygenation (PB-ALR) was constructed. To obtain a high packed-bed volume relative to the whole bioreactor volume, a high A(D)/A(R) ratio was used. Reactor's downcomer was packed with a porous support of volcanic stone fragments. PB-ALR hydrodynamics and oxygen mass transfer behavior was evaluated and compared to the observed behavior of the unpacked reactor operating as an internal airlift reactor (ALR). Overall gas holdup values epsilon(G), and zonal oxygen mass transfer coefficients determined at various airflow rates in the PB-ALR, were higher than those obtained with the ALR. When comparing mixing time values obtained in both cases, a slight increment in mixing time was observed when reactor was operated as a PB-ALR. By using a mixed microbial community, the biofilm reactor was used to evaluate the aerobic biodegradation of 2,4,6-TCP. Three bacterial strains identified as Burkholderia sp., Burkholderia kururiensis and Stenotrophomonas sp. constituted the microbial consortium able to cometabolically degrade the 2,4,6-TCP, using phenol as primary substrate. This consortium removed 100% of phenol and near 99% of 2,4,6-TCP. Mineralization and dehalogenation of 2,4,6-TCP was evidenced by high COD removal efficiencies ( approximately 95%), and by the stoichiometric release of chloride ions from the halogenated compound ( approximately 80%). Finally, it was observed that the microbial consortium was also capable to metabolize 2,4,6-TCP without phenol as primary substrate, with high removal efficiencies (near 100% for 2,4,6-TCP, 92% for COD and 88% for chloride ions).

Enrichment, isolation, and characterization of 4-chlorophenol-degrading bacterium Rhizobium sp. 4-CP-20

The objectives of this research were to monitor the variations of species in mixed cultures during the enrichment period, isolate species and identify and characterize the pure 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) degrading strains from enriched mixed cultures. Strain Rhizobium sp. 4-CP-20 was isolated from the acclimated mixed culture. The DGGE result indicated that strain Rhizobium sp. 4-CP-20 was undetectable at the beginning but detectable after 2 weeks of enrichment. The optimum growth temperatures for Rhizobium sp. 4-CP-20 were both 36 degrees C using 350 mg l(-1) glucose or sodium acetate as the substrate. The optimum pH range for degrading 100 mg l(-1) 4-CP was between 6.89 and 8.20. Strain Rhizobium sp. 4-CP-20 could degrade 4-CP completely within 3.95 days, as the initial 4-CP concentration was 100 mg l(-1). If the initial 4-CP concentration was higher than 240 mg l(-1), the growth of bacterial cells and the activity of degrading 4-CP were both inhibited.