Enhancement of 4-chlorophenol biodegradation using glucose

Toxic, xenobiotic chemicals present challenging problems for the environment since they are normally resistant to biodegradation. Sometimes it is possible to induce biodegradation activity by the use of growth cosubstrates. In this study, pure solutions and binary mixtures of glucose, phenol and 4-chlorophenol have been metabolized in batch cultures by a pure strain of Pseudomonas putida. Following a lag period during which slow growth and low production of biomass occurred, phenol was metabolized according to the Monod model. Glucose was also metabolized according to the Monod model but exponential growth commenced immediately after inoculation with no noticeable lag phase. Biokinetic behavior for growth on a mixture of phenol and glucose paralleled the behavior on individual substrates with simultaneous consumption of both substrates. 4-chlorophenol was not consumed as a sole substrate by Pseudomonas putida but was consumed as a cometabolite with either glucose or phenol acting as the primary growth cosubstrate. Surprisingly, glucose was found to be the superior growth cosubstrate, suggesting that inexpensive sugars can be used to enhance the biodegradation of chlorophenol-contaminated sites. Glucose and the excreted metabolic products of the biodegradation process, including a bright yellow pigment, demonstrated negligible toxicity towards Artemia salina, unlike the phenol and 4-chlorophenol substrates.