THE BIODEGRADATION OF MIXTURES OF ORGANIC-SOLVENTS BY MIXED AND MONOCULTURES OF BACTERIA

Much more information concerning the biodegradation kinetics of mixtures of common industrial chemicals, such as organic solvents, needs to be gathered before wastewater biotreatment process performance can become a matter of design. Here, the biooxidation of a solvent mixture comprising methanol, acetone, isopropanol, and methylene chloride is examined. The fact that the enrichment culture obtained comprised only two solvent-utilizing strains, together with only minor percentages of nonsolvent utilizing satellite strains, was contrary to the theory of microbial competition. In addition, the complex relationship between the two solvent-utilizing strains indicates that further work is necessary on the pathways involved in isopropanol and acetone biooxidation and on the effects of operating conditions on the fluxes along such pathways.