Rapid and Complete Biodegradation of Acrylic Acid by a Novel Strain Rhodococcus ruber JJ-3: Kinetics, Carbon Balance, and Degradation Pathways

• Published in: Biotechnology and bioprocess engineering Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 589 - 598
• Main Authors: He, Jinjia, Chen, Yi, Dai, Luyao, Yao, Jiachao, Mei, Yu, Hrynsphan, Dzmitry, Tatsiana, Savitskaya, Chen, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul The Korean Society for Biotechnology and Bioengineering 01.08.2020; Springer Nature B.V; 한국생물공학회
• Subjects: Acids; Acrylic acid; Acrylics; bacteria; Biodegradation; biomass; Biotechnology; Carbon; Carbon dioxide; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Environmental health; Environmental impact; Glycerol; human health; Industrial and Production Engineering; Industrial applications; Inoculation; Intermediates; Lactic acid; mineralization; pollution; Research Paper; Rhodococcus; Rhodococcus ruber; temperature; 생물공학; Monod model; biodegradation; carbon balance; degradation pathways; acrylic acid
• ISSN: 1226-8372; 1976-3816
• DOI: 10.1007/s12257-019-0465-z

Acrylic acid is used in various industrial applications but inflicts harm to human health and causes environmental pollution. A new bacterium, identified as Rhodococcus ruber JJ-3, was isolated, which can degrade high concentrations of acrylic acid rapidly and completely. Experimental results showed that the strain can achieve complete degradation of 1000 mg·L −1 acrylic acid in 11 h under the following conditions: pH 7, temperature 35°C, and inoculation quantity 15%. A high concentration of acrylic acid (2000 mg·L −1 ) can be completely removed in 28 h. According to the Monod model, the maximum specific degradation rate ( v max ) and half saturation rate constant ( K S ) of the strain were 0.85 h −1 and 101.83 mg·L −1 , respectively. The results of carbon balance revealed that 54.6% carbon was assimilated by R. ruber JJ-3 as biomass, and 43.0% carbon was mineralized into CO 2 . Furthermore, glycerol and lactic acid were measured as intermediates, and the possible degradation pathway was proposed during the biodegradation of acrylic acid. These results suggested that R. ruber JJ-3 completely degrades acrylic acid and might have a potential environmental implication in the purification of acrylic acid-contaminated environments.