title: Kinetics of biodegradation of mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
abstract: The kinetics of biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by a mixed culture were determined in a creosote-contaminated soil and in a pristine soil. A competitive-inhibition model was able to represent the kinetics of degradation of PAHs from the creosote-contaminated soil, from the lag phase through to active degradation, but not data from pristine soil with the same PAHs alone and in mixtures. The presence of phenanthrene introduced a lag phase of 4.5 days in the degradation of fluoranthene and 5 days for chrysene. Rapid degradation of pyrene followed a lag phase of circa 5 days, regardless of the presence of other PAHs. These results show that even when kinetics of PAH degradation by mixed cultures appear to follow competitive-inhibition kinetics, the underlying mechanisms may be more complex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2G6 Canada.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lotfabad
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Gray
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002911:Chrysenes / Q000378:metabolism; D003407:Creosote / Q000378:metabolism; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000378:metabolism; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002911:Chrysenes; D005449:Fluorenes; D010616:Phenanthrenes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C031180:chrysene; C007738:fluoranthene; C031181:phenanthrene; D003407:Creosote; C030984:pyrene