Yinping Zhang

Extracellular polymeric substances enhanced mass transfer of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the two-liquid-phase system for biodegradation

The objective was to elucidate the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in two-liquid-phase system (TLPs). Therefore, biodegradation of phenanthrene (PHE) was conducted in a typical TLPs—silicone oil–water—with PHE-degrading bacteria capable of producing EPS, Sphingobium sp. PHE3 and Micrococcus sp. PHE9. The results showed that the presence of both strains enhanced mass transfer of PHE from silicone oil to water, and that biodegradation of PHE mainly occurred at the interfaces. The ratios of tightly bound (TB) proteins to TB polysaccharides kept almost constant, whereas the ratios of loosely bound (LB) proteins to LB polysaccharides increased during the biodegradation. Furthermore, polysaccharides led to increased PHE solubility in the bulk water, which resulted in an increased PHE mass transfer. Both LB-EPS and TB-EPS (proteins and polysaccharides) correlated with PHE mass transfer in silicone oil, indicating that both proteins and polysaccharides favored bacterial uptake of PHE at the interfaces. It could be concluded that EPS could facilitate microbial degradation of PHE in the TLPs.

Extracellular polymeric substances govern the development of biofilm and mass transfer of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for improved biodegradation

The hypothesis that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) affect the formation of biofilms for subsequent enhanced biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was tested. Controlled formation of biofilms on humin particles and biodegradation of phenanthrene and pyrene were performed with bacteria and EPS-extracted bacteria of Micrococcus sp. PHE9 and Mycobacterium sp. NJS-P. Bacteria without EPS extraction developed biofilms on humin, in contrast the EPS-extracted bacteria could not attach to humin particles. In the subsequent biodegradation of phenanthrene and pyrene, the biodegradation rates by biofilms were significantly higher than those of EPS-extracted bacteria. Although, both the biofilms and EPS-extracted bacteria showed increases in EPS contents, only the EPS contents in biofilms displayed significant correlations with the biodegradation efficiencies of phenanthrene and pyrene. It is proposed that the bacterial-produced EPS was a key factor to mediate bacterial attachment to other surfaces and develop biofilms, thereby increasing the bioavailability of poorly soluble PAH for enhanced biodegradation.

Enhanced microbial degradation of humin-bound phenanthrene in a two-liquid-phase system.

Humin, the main component of soil organic matter, greatly influences the nonlinear sorption and desorption hysteresis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil. However, little is known about the bioavailability of PAHs bound to humin. In the present study, a phenanthrene (PHE)-degrading bacterial strain--PHE9--was isolated and identified as the genus Micrococcus. It was used to investigate the degradation of humin-bound PHE and PHE not bound to humin (non-humin PHE) in liquid mineral medium (MM) and in a two-liquid-phase system (TLPs). The results showed that in MM, about 66.84% of humin-bound PHE was degraded after 49 days, whereas almost all the non-humin PHE was degraded after 27 days. Compared to MM, the TLPs showed a much better efficacy in the removal of PHE, especially for humin-bound PHE: more than 97.28% of non-humin PHE was degraded in 11 days and over 85.62% of humin-bound PHE was degraded in 32 days. It could be concluded that most of humin-bound PHE could be degraded in the MM although humin decreased the bioavailability of PHE, whereas the application of TLPs could enhance the biodegradation of humin-bound PHE.

Enhanced desorption of humin-bound phenanthrene by attached phenanthrene-degrading bacteria

The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that the attachment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)-degrading bacteria can promote desorption of PAHs from humin, thereby increasing their bioavailability. Biodegradation of humin-bound phenanthrene (PHE) - a model compound for PAHs - was investigated using two PHE-degrading bacteria, Sphingobium sp. PHE3 and Micrococcus sp. PHE9, respectively. Sorption data of PHE to humin fitted well into the modified Freundlich equation. Further, a new sorption band appeared at 1262cm(-1), demonstrating intermolecular interactions between PHE and humin. Interestingly, approximately 65.3% of humin-bound PHE was degraded by both strains, although only about 17.8% of PHE could be desorbed from humin by Tenax extraction. Furthermore, both strains grew well in mineral medium and also attached to humin surfaces for substrate uptake. It is proposed that the attached bacteria could possibly consume PHE on the humin via interactions between bacterial surfaces and humin, thereby overcoming the low PHE bioavailability and resulting in enhanced degradation.