Biological treatment of wastewater containing chlorinated phenols by a mixed culture = 복합미생물제재를 이용한 염소화 페놀계 폐수의 생물학적 처리

Abstract

The biodegradation of chlorinated phenols in an artificial wastewater was investigated using a mixed culture. The mixed culture was composed of 8 microorganisms isolated from the soil contaminated with various chlorinated phenols. Pseudomonas sp. BM as a main constituent of a mixed culture was Gram-negative, catalase- and oxidase-positive, and rod-shaped, and did not grow at 41°C. It degraded 99% of initial 500 mg/l of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the minimal salts medium as a sole source of carbon and energy within 3 days. The degradation efficiency of Pseudomonas sp. BM was not affected by the other organic carbon and nitrogen compounds. Pseudomonas sp. BM was able to grow in a broad range of pH 5 - 8, and degrade 2,000 mg/l PCP. In the experiment with an artificial wastewater containing chlorinated phenols, the degradation efficiency of the mixed culture was the range of 73% (2,4-dichlorophenol) -96% (2-chlorophenol) during an incubation of 7 days. In a continuous culture experiment, the degradation efficiency of mixed culture plus activated sludge was about 2 times higher than that of the control containing only activated sludge. These results indicate that it is possible to apply the mixed culture to other wastewaters containing chlorinated phenols.