Effective Bioremediation of Endocrine-Disrupting Phthalate Esters, Mediated by Bacillus Strains

• Published in: Water, air, and soil pollution Vol. 228; no. 10; p. 1
• Main Authors: Surhio, Muhammad Ali, Talpur, Farah N., Nizamani, Shafi M., Talpur, Marvi Kanwal, Amin, Farah, Khaskheli, Abid Ali, Bhurgri, Shazia, Afridi, Hassan Imran, Rahman, Shafiq Ur
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.10.2017; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Additives; Agricultural land; Analysis; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacillus cereus; Bacillus thuringiensis; Biodegradation; Bioremediation; Climate Change/Climate Change Impacts; Consortia; Contamination; Dibutyl phthalate; Earth and Environmental Science; Endocrine disruptors; Environment; Environmental monitoring; Esters; Hydrogeology; Inoculum; Microorganisms; Optimization; Organic compounds; pH effects; Phthalate esters; Phthalate plasticizers; Phthalic acid; Plasticizers; Plastics; Pollutants; Soil contamination; Soil Science & Conservation; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Phthalic acid esters; First-order kinetics model; Bioremediation; Endocrine-disrupting pollutants
• ISSN: 0049-6979; 1573-2932
• DOI: 10.1007/s11270-017-3567-2

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) is a class of refractory organic compounds, widely used as additives or plasticizers in plastic industry. PAEs are ubiquitous endocrine-disrupting pollutants and can be degraded by microorganisms. The present study described the assimilation of four PAE mixture (dimethyl, diethyl, dipropyl, and dibutyl phthalate) by two bacillus species: Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus cereus , isolated from different agricultural soil and their consortium. Among which, the optimal degradation of 82–96% was achieved by B. thuringiensis . This is the first report on the metabolic breakdown of four basic PAE mixture. The optimum conditions for biodegradation were found to be pH 7, temperature 30 °C, inoculum size 10 mL, and concentration 400 mg/L. Moreover, the respective biodegradation followed the first-order kinetic model. Our results proffered supplementary confirmation of the wide spectrum of PAE utilization by B. thuringiensis and suggest the possibility of applying it for the remediation of PAE contamination waste.