Effect of Nonionic Surfactant on the Biodegradation of Pentachlorophenol (Abstract)

摘要

Soil flushing with surfactants is a promising remediation technology due to enhanced desorption and solubilization of organic contaminants into water, which is then extracted and treated before returning the water to the environment. Due to the costs associated with surfactants and many water treatment processes, the ability to biodegrade organic contaminants in the presence of surfactant without degrading the surfactant itself is of interest. This could potentially provide a cost effective treatment that would enable surfactant re-injection. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) has been widely used as a pesticide and wood preservative, and it is on the national priority pollutant list. Many natural soil mi- croorganisms have the ability to degrade PCP. These bacteria are subject to varying levels of toxicity from PCP and surfactants. In this research the goal is to determine if an overall indicator of bacterial stress will relate to the rate at which the bacteria are able to degrade organic contaminants. The INT (p-iodo nitrophenyl phenyl tetrazolium chloride) method provides an accurate assay of dehydrogenase activity under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions.