Abstract:
Phenols and its derivatives, a class of hazardous pollutants in water are exceptionally harmful to humans even at very low concentration. These compounds are discharged into water bodies mainly from chemical and petroleum industries. There are several physical and chemical methods to remove phenol from environment but the biological method is most effective, economic and environmental friendly. The present study is aimed at isolation of bacterial strains from sludge that have the potential to degrade phenolic compounds. To observe the potential of bacterial strains to degrade phenolic compounds, sludge sample was collected from Islamabad sewage treatment plant. Number of bacterial strains were isolated based on morphology. After isolation, bacterial strains were subjected to phenol degrading analysis. In each analysis, different physio chemical parameters including pH, phenol concentration, Organic solvents and incubation period were optimized. This process was carried out in test tubes containing MSM, pH of 3, 5, 9 and 11, phenol concentration (200ppm, 600ppm, 800ppm, 1000ppm), Organic solvents (Glycerol, Ethanol, Acetone and Chloroform) incubated for 24, 48, 72, and 96hrs at 37˚C. Phenol degradation was observed using UV-spectrophotometer at wavelength 270. Maximum degradation was observed at pH11 and at 600ppm concentration. Maximum degradation in terms of optical density in presence of Ethanol. The favorable incubation period for phenol degradation was 96hrs at 37°C.
