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Enhancement of biodegradation of phenol and a nongrowth substrate 4-chlorophenol by medium augmentation with conventional carbon sources

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Abstract

The enhancement of biodegradation of phenol and4-chlorophenol (4-cp) as a cometabolised compound byPseudomonas putida ATCC 49451 was accomplishedby augmenting the medium with conventional carbonsources such as sodium glutamate and glucose. Comparedwith phenol as the sole carbon source, the addition of1 gl-1 sodium glutamate increased the toxicitytolerance of cells toward 4-cp and significantlyimproved the biodegradation rates of both phenol and4-cp even when the initial concentration of 4-cp wasas high as 200 mgl-1. On the other hand,supplementation of glucose caused a significant dropin the medium pH from 7.2 to 4.3 resulting in areduction of degradation rate, leaving a considerableamount of 4-cp undegraded when the initialconcentration of 4-cp was higher than 100 mgl-1.By regulating the pH of the medium, however,enhancement of degradation rates of phenol and 4-cp inthe presence of glucose was achieved with aconcomitant complete degradation of phenol and 4-cp.

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Loh, KC., Wang, SJ. Enhancement of biodegradation of phenol and a nongrowth substrate 4-chlorophenol by medium augmentation with conventional carbon sources. Biodegradation 8, 329–338 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008267607634

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