Biodegradation of geosmin in drinking water by novel bacteria isolated from biologically active carbon

Three strains of Gram-negative bacteria capable of removing geosmin from drinking water were isolated from biologically active carbon and identified to be Chryseobacterium sp., Sinorhizobium sp. and Stenotrophomonas sp. based on physio-biochemistry analysis and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Removal efficiencies of 2 mg/L geosmin in mineral salts medium were 84.0%, 80.2% and 74.4% for Chryseobacterium sp., Sinorhizobium sp. and Stenotrophomonas sp., respectively, while removal efficiencies of 560 ng/L geosmin in filter influent were 84.8%, 82.3% and 82.5%, respectively. The biodégradation of geosmin was determined to be a pseudo first-order reaction, with rate constants at 2 mg/L and 560 ng/L being 0.097 and 0.086 day−1, 0.089 and 0.084 day−1, 0.074 and 0.098 day−1 for the above mentioned degraders, respectively. The biomass of culture in the presence of geosmin was much higher than that in the absence of geosmin.