EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND CARBON SOURCEON PHENOL DEGRADATION BYPSEUDOMONAS DESMOLYTICUM (NCIM 2028)

Phenols are one of many commonly occurring organic pollutants in the environment. These compounds are stable and even at low concentrations they may be toxic towards living organisms and cause unfavorable chemical changes in waters and soils. Among others, biotechnological methods are applied for their removal. These techniques are based on degradation using specifically selected microorganisms, which utilize the pollutants as their energy, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus or sulfur sources. The biodegradation of phenol by Pseudomonas desmolyticum (NCIM 2028), a potential biodegradent has been investigated for its degrading potential under different operating conditions. P. desmolyticum (NCIM 2028) can grow using phenol as carbon resource and has ability of phenol degradation. The effect of temperature and carbon addition on biodegradative capacity of P.desmolyticum (NCIM 2028) was studied in batch cultures as a function of temperature (300C, 320C, 330C, 340C) and carbon (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 gm/L). It was found that the degrading potential of P. desmolyticum (NCIM 2028) was strongly affected by the variations in temperature and carbon. Optimum conditions of the variables for the maximum degradation of phenol by P. desmolyticum (NCIM 2028) are : temperature - 320C and carbon - 0.5 gm/L. These results are useful to understand the physiological and biochemical properties of P. desmolyticum (NCIM 2028) before its optimum use in environmental application and these data will assist in choosing the right phenol degrader for a changeable environment.