Biodegradation of Phenol and 4-Chlorophenol by the Mutant Strain CTM 2

The biodegradations of phenol and 4-chlorophenol (4-cp) were studied using the mutant strain CTM 2 obtained by the He-Ne laser irradiation on wild-type Candida tropicalis. The results showed that the capacity of the CTM 2 to biodegrade 4-cp was increased up to 400 mg.L-1 within 59.5 h. In the dual-substrate biodegradation, both velocity and capacity of the CTM 2 to degrade 4-cp increased with low-concentration phenol. A total of 4 mg.L-1 4-cp was completely degraded within 50.5 h in the presence of 300 mg.L-1 phenol. The maximum 4-cp biodegradation could reach 440 mg.L-1 with 120 mg-L-1 phenol. Low-concentration 4-cp caused great inhibition on the CTM 2 to degrade phenol. In addition, the kinetic behaviors were described using the kinetic model proposed in this lab.