Kinetics of xenobiotic biodegradation by the Pseudomonas sp. YATO411 strain in suspension and cell-immobilized beads

Microorganisms have an essential role in degradation of xenobiotics in the environment. Whole cell immobilization has been demonstrated to offer obvious advantages over conventional biological systems using freely suspended cells, especially for recalcitrant compounds. A pure strain, Pseudomonas sp. YATO411, was isolated from a bioreactor in our lab through enrichment using methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) mixture as sole carbon sources. This strain was utilized to investigate the characteristics and kinetics of benzene and toluene biodegradation in an immobilized system and a freely suspended system. Additionally, Monod and Haldane kinetic models were applied to assess their feasibility in describing and predicting experimental data. Kinetics of this pure strain obtained from two growth systems will help engineers to estimate the extent of bioaugmentation applied, predict effluent quality, and design or optimize engineered bioremediation processes when this strain is chosen as a candidate for real organics-contaminated sites.

► The benefits of using a cell-immobilized system to treat toxic chemicals were showed. ► Kinetic models were used to test feasibility in describing experimental results. ► Kinetics of pure strain enables engineers to determine the extent of bioremediation.