Abstract
Batch experiments were conducted to evaluate the biodegradation rates of limonene, α-pinene, γ-terpinene, terpinolene and α-terpineol at 23 °C under aerobic conditions. Biodegradation was demonstrated by the depletion of monoterpene mass, CO2 production and a corresponding increase in biomass. Monoterpene degradation in liquid cultures devoid of soil followed Monod kinetics. The maximum specific growth rate (μmax) was 0.02 h−1 and 0.06 h−1 and the half-velocity constant (K s ) varied from 32 mg/l to 3 mg/l for the limonene and α-terpineol respectively. The recovery of monoterpenes by solvent extraction from autoclaved and azide-amended soil-slurry samples decreased over time and ranged from 69% to 73% for 120 h of incubation period. Although a significant fraction of monoterpene hydrocarbon could not be extracted, mineralization of these compounds in the soil-slurry systems took place, as shown by CO2 production. The soil-normalized degradation rates for the hydrocarbon monoterpenes ranged from 0.6 μg g−1 h−1 to 2.1 μg g−1 h−1. A kinetic model – which combined monoterpene biodegradation in the liquid phase and net desorption – was developed and applied to data obtained from soil-slurry assays.
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Received: 10 September 1996 / Received revision: 16 December 1996 / Accepted: 10 January 1997
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Misra, G., Pavlostathis, S. Biodegradation kinetics of monoterpenes in liquid and soil-slurry systems. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 47, 572–577 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530050975
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002530050975