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Bacterial Degradation of High Molecular Weight Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons

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Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics

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Abstract

Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are commonly found pollutants in the environment. Bioremediation has been proposed as an efficient and cost effective technology for removal of PAHs. Poor bioavailability and low aqueous solubility is the major limiting factor in bacterial degradation of PAHs. To overcome this, addition of surfactants have been attempted, however, the effect is not always beneficial. Bacteria can adopt many mechanisms, such as, induction of cell surface hydrophobicity and production of biosurfactant to improve access to poorly soluble PAHs. Substrate interaction is an important phenomenon in the removal of PAHs in the natural environment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors will like to acknowledge Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India for providing funding for the project “Surfactant aided biodegradation of model NAPLs” which has given us practical insights on PAH biodegradation.

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  1. Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai, 400076, India

    Suparna Mukherji & Indrani Ghosh

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  1. Suparna Mukherji
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  2. Indrani Ghosh
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Correspondence to Suparna Mukherji .

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  1. , Environmental Science Division, National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg., Lucknow, 226001, India

    Shree Nath Singh

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Mukherji, S., Ghosh, I. (2012). Bacterial Degradation of High Molecular Weight Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons. In: Singh, S. (eds) Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-23789-8_7

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