Low temperature phenol-degrading microbial agent: construction and mechanism

Abstract

In this study, three cold-tolerant phenol-degrading strains, Pseudomonas veronii Ju-A1 (Ju-A1), Leifsonia naganoensis Ju-A4 (Ju-A4), and Rhodococcus qingshengii Ju-A6 (Ju-A6), were isolated. All three strains can produce cis, cis-muconic acid by ortho-cleavage of catechol at 12 ℃. Response surface methodology (RSM) were used to optimize the proportional composition of low-temperature phenol-degrading microbiota. Degradation of phenol below 160 mg L-1 by low-temperature phenol-degrading microbiota followed first-order degradation kinetics. When the phenol concentration was greater than 200 mg L-1, the overall degradation trend was in accordance with the modified Gompertz model. The experiments showed that the bacterial agent (three strains of low-temperature phenol-degrading bacteria were fermented separately and constructed in the optimal ratio) degraded phenol at the fastest rate. The above construction method is more advantageous in the actual wastewater treatment.