Abstract
The anaerobic biodegradation of phenol has been realised in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) under anaerobic conditions with phenol as sole carbon and energy source and with glucose as co-substrate. A step-change increase of phenol loading (from 100 up to 2000 mg/L of phenol concentration in the feed solution) has been applied during the acclimation phase in order to progressively induce the development of a specialised microbial consortium. This approach, combined with the dynamic sequence of operations characterising SBRs and with the high biomass retention time, led to satisfactory phenol and COD removal efficiencies with values > 70% for the highest phenol input (2000 mg/L) fed as the single carbon and energy source. Analysis of removal efficiencies and biodegradation rates suggested that the use of glucose as co-substrate did not induce a significant improvement in process performance. Kinetic tests have been performed at different initial phenol (400–1000 mg/L) and glucose (1880–0 mg/L) concentrations to kinetically characterise the developed biomass: estimated kinetic constants are suitable for application and no inhibitory effect due to high concentrations of phenol has been observed in all investigated conditions. The microbial community has been characterised at different operating conditions through molecular tools: results confirm the successful adaptation-operation approach of the microbial consortium showing a gradual increase in richness and diversity and the occurrence and selection of a high proportion of phenol-degrading genera at the end of the experimentation.
Key Points • Anaerobic phenol removal in the range of 70–99% in a sequencing batch reactor. • Negligible effect of co-substrate on removal efficiencies and biodegradation rates. • No biomass inhibition due to phenol concentration in the range of 400–1000 mg/L. • Increasing phenol loads promoted the culture enrichment of phenol-degrading genera. |
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MCT and DMA conceived and designed the research. DMA conducted the kinetic experiments. DMA and MCT analysed the kinetic data. LB and EC designed the bacterial analysis plan. EC performed the bacterial analysis. EC and LB analysed the microbial data. DMA and EC wrote the first draft of the manuscript. MCT and LB reviewed and integrated the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Mosca Angelucci, D., Clagnan, E., Brusetti, L. et al. Anaerobic phenol biodegradation: kinetic study and microbial community shifts under high-concentration dynamic loading. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 104, 6825–6838 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-020-10696-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-020-10696-8