Microaerobic degradation of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole present in industrial wastewater

Microaerobic degradation of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (2-MBT) was investigated using an isolated bacterial strain CSMB1. It was identified as Alcaligenes sp. MH146 by genomic analysis. The isolate degraded 50 mg/L concentration of 2-MBT which was measured in terms of Total organic carbon (TOC) (700 mg/L). A maximum degradation of 86% with a residual TOC concentration of 101 mg/L was obtained after 72 h, with the biomass growth of 290 mg/L. The presence of specific activity of catechol 2, 3 oxygenase was observed in all the tested derivatives of benzothiazoles and the benzene ring opening was observed through meta cleavage. By analyzing the 72 h incubated culture supernatant, 2-MBT, and all its biotransformed products were degraded into polar compounds. With the analytical results obtained, a possible microaerobic degradative pathway was proposed and illustrated for 2-MBT. It is concluded that microaerophilic isolate CSMB1 was able to degrade 2-MBT and its intermediates by utilizing them as sole carbon and energy.