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Kinetics of BTEX biodegradation by a coculture of Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens under hypoxic conditions

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Abstract

Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens present as a coculture were studied for their abilities to degrade benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (collectively known as BTEX) under various growth conditions. The coculture effectively degraded various concentrations of BTEX as sole carbon sources. However, all BTEX compounds showed substrate inhibition to the bacteria, in terms of specific growth, degradation rate, and cell net yield. Cell growth was completely inhibited at 500mgl−1 of benzene, 600mgl−1 of o-xylene, and 1000mgl−1 of toluene. Without aeration, aerobic biodegradation of BTEX required additional oxygen provided as hydrogen peroxide in the medium. Under hypoxic conditions, however, nitrate could be used as an alternative electron acceptor for BTEX biodegradation when oxygen was limited and denitrification took place in the culture. The carbon mass balance study confirmed that benzene and toluene were completely mineralized to CO2 and H2O without producing any identifiable intermediate metabolites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Macau, Macau

    Hojae Shim

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Korea

    Byungho Hwang

  3. Department of Biology, Kyonggi University, Korea

    Sang-Seob Lee

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Hanyang University, Korea

    Sung-Ho Kong

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  1. Hojae Shim
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  2. Byungho Hwang
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  3. Sang-Seob Lee
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  4. Sung-Ho Kong
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Correspondence to Sung-Ho Kong.

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Shim, H., Hwang, B., Lee, SS. et al. Kinetics of BTEX biodegradation by a coculture of Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens under hypoxic conditions. Biodegradation 16, 319–327 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-004-1842-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-004-1842-6

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