Biodegradation of Nitroaromatics and RDX by Isolated Rhodococcus Opacus
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 10
Abstract
Identification of bacteria that can utilize a wide range of nitroaromatic compounds will allow development of more effective biological treatment methods in industrial wastewater treatment processes and environmental remediation efforts. A new strain of Rhodococcus opacus capable of mineralizing or transforming nitroaromatic and nitramine compounds of importance was isolated. Specifically, the bacterium were found to utilize 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) as a sole carbon and nitrogen source and have a yield coefficient of 0.16 g cells-N/g TNP-N. The Edwards model was found to provide the best fit to the data and the estimated inhibited growth parameters , , and were , 25, and , respectively. It was found that the TNP-degraders could degrade 2,4-dinitrophenol as the sole carbon and nitrogen source and utilize 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene as the sole nitrogen source. Additionally, the results show that the isolates are able to cometabolize 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), and 2,4- and 2,6-dinitrotoluene (2,4 and 2,6-DNT) to some extent when TNP is also present.
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Acknowledgments
The project described was supported under Grant No. UNSPECIFIED5 P42 ES004699 from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIH and the endowment for the Ray B. Krone Professorship. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the writers and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NIEHS, NIH. The writers also acknowledge the helpful comments and insights provided by Stefan Wuertz.UNSPECIFIED
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 10 • October 2009
Pages: 1025 - 1031
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
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Received: May 16, 2008
Accepted: Feb 19, 2009
Published online: Sep 15, 2009
Published in print: Oct 2009
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