Chantal Seignez

A procedure for production of adapted bacteria to degrade chlorinated aromatics

Production of biomass adapted to the degradation of a mixture of chlorobenzene (CB) and 1,2-dichlorobenzene (DCB) was investigated in a batch culture with substrates supplied by pulses. CB and o-DCB concentrations which gave the best adapted biomass productivity were determined and found to be 150 and 30 microl l(-1), respectively. The biomass productivity was 51 mg l(-1) h(-1). The biomass yield was 0.38 g of biomass dry weight per gram of substrate. The pulses of 200 microl CB and 40 microl o-DCB, were inhibitory to the bacterial culture. Among the metabolites, muconic acid was found in large quantities in the medium and in the cells. At a time between two pulses of 60 min, adding 150 microl CB and 30 microl o-DCB per each pulse, 7.6g l(-1) of biomass was obtained. The produced biomass served as an inoculum for the biotrickling filter which treated industrial waste gases contaminated by CBs. The method of adapted biomass production was described using CBs, but the degradation of any other toxic volatile pollutant can be improved using this technique.

Growth inhibition of biomass adapted to the degradation of toluene and xylenes in mixture in a batch reactor with substrates supplied by pulses

A biomass adapted to degrade toluene and xylenes in mixture was grown in a batch reactor with substrates supplied by pulses. The inhibition of biomass growth in the course of substrate degradation was investigated. The maximal biomass concentration of 7 g l−1 was obtained using 150 μl of toluene and 15 μl of a mixture of xylenes in one litre of liquid medium, and the maximal biomass productivity and yield were 53 mg l−1 h−1 and 0.32 gDW gs−1, respectively. Higher quantities of substrate added by pulses, that is 200 μl of toluene with 20 μl of xylenes and 300 μl of toluene with 30 μl of xylenes, caused an accumulation of metabolites. These higher quantities of substrates caused inhibition of microbial growth. Among the metabolites produced, 4-methyl catechol was found in large quantities in the culture medium and in the cells.

Aerobic and anaerobic biodegradability of 1-Anthraquinone sulphonate

Abstract The present work investigates 1-anthraquinone sulphonate (1-AS) biodegradation under (i) aerobic conditions using domestic activated sludge as inoculum, (ii) anaerobic conditions using sludge from an anaerobic domestic wastewater treatment digestor in a sulphate-containing or methanogenic environment, (iii) a combination of anaerobic followed by aerobic conditions. The process was evaluated in terms of primary degradation, i.e. 1-AS elimination and ultimate degradation, as total dissolved organic carbon removal. It was shown that aerobic conditions lead to the complete primary and ultimate degradation, of 1-AS. By contrast, neither under sulphato-reductive nor methanogenic conditions does anaerobic digestion lead to the significant degradation of 1-AS. The use of anaerobic treatment followed by aerobic treatment did not improve degradation. Indeed aerobic post-treatment resulted in the re-appearance of pollutant in the medium even though this had been partly degraded under anaerobic conditions.

Inoculum standardization for biodegradability tests

To obtain standardized inoculum with constant characteristics for biodegradability test, Actizym powder was used instead of sludge. A predigestion and stabilization step were introduced to prepare “activated Actizym”, before inoculation and addition of test chemical. The inoculum obtained is similar to activated sludge in its microbiological and physical aspects. The reproducibility of the method was prooved and several controls were made using chemicals with different biodegradation rates.

Degradation of sodium anthraquinone sulphonate by free and immobilized bacterial cultures

Aerobic biodegradation of a xenobiotic recalcitrant compound sodium anthraquinone-2-sulphonate (SAS), was investigated using as an inoculum a mixed microbial culture, which was activated sludge from industrial and domestic waste-water treatment plants. The difference in SAS degradation was examined using two main systems: (1) suspended cells and (2) immobilized cells, both in batch and in continuous culture. In the suspended cell system, under continuous culture conditions using SAS as a unique source of carbon and energy, it was possible to degrade about 95% of this substrate after 6 days. Maximal SAS removal rates in the suspended-cell system were 593 mg SAS l−1 h−1 and 88.7 mg SAS l−1 h−1 for dilution rates (D) of 0.05 h−1 and 0.075 h−1, respectively. In the immobilized-cell system, almost all SAS was degraded in 6 days and the maximal removal rate reached 88.7 mg SAS l−1 h−1 at D=0.05 h−1. Application of a continuous-flow enrichment procedure resulted in selection of several kinds of micro-organisms and led to a progressive elimination of some species of Aeromonas. A stable microbial community of 11 strains has been established and characterized at D=0.075 h−1. Most of them were Gram-negative and belonged to the genus Pseudomonas.