Biodegradation of benzyl butyl phthalate and dibutyl phthalate by Arthrobacter sp. via micellar solubilization in a surfactant-aided system

Abstract

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) like phthalates, mostly discharged by industrial effluents, cause detrimental effects to different life forms, and hence their removal from constituent wastewater is necessary. This study investigated the kinetics of biomass growth and biodegradation of benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and di-butyl phthalate (DBP) by Arthrobacter sp. in a surfactant aided batch system. The effect of different surfactants on aqueous solubility of BBP and DBP was initially examined, which showed that Tween 80 resulted in maximum bioavailability and biodegradation efficiency of the phthalates by the bacterium without inhibiting the biomass growth. Compared with BBP, DBP was found to be efficiently degraded and supported the bacterial growth within a short period of time over the entire concentration tested in the range 100–1,000 mg L−1. A maximum biomass concentration of 1.819 g L−1 was obtained at 120 h for a DBP concentration of 600 mg L−1 in the presence of Tween 80, which is 5.66-fold increase in biomass concentration as compared with only DBP as the sole substrate. For evaluating the biokinetic parameters involved in DBP biodegradation, the experimental data on DBP utilization were fitted to various kinetic models as reported in the literature.

Editorial: Integrated water management for enhanced water quality and reuse to create a sustainable future

“…The novel PEI-T was prepared under the following conditions: room temperature, nPEI: nTGA ¼ 1:2, PEI concentration ¼ 4%, time t ¼ 12 h, catalyst EDC ¼ 6 mL, and initial pH ¼ 2.5. In this study, the authors deduced the removal mechanism as follows: (i) complexation reaction with Hg 2þ in the form of coordination bonds and covalent bonds to form a stable insoluble heavy metal complex to precipitate PEIT-Hg, (ii) redox reaction, and (iii) the presence of Na 2þ , Mg 2þ , and Ca 2þ in wastewater promoted the removal of heavy metals by PEI-T. Nandi et al (2021) studied the biodegradation of benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) by Arthrobacter sp. via micellar solubilization in a surfactant-aided system.…”