Role of Sodium lon in Biodegradation of Nitroaromatic Compound by Activated Sludge and Pure Cultures

2,4-Dinitrophenol(DNP) is a metabolic uncoupler that prevents cells from creating energy for growth and it has been suggested that the availability of sodium ions may be important in mitigating the effects of uncouplers. Accordingly, the degradation of DNP was investigated using activated sludge which had been adapted to mineralize DNP. After the acclimation of the activated sludge, the effect of sodium ions on the toxicity of high concentrations(80 to 100mg/L) of DNP was investigated over a sodium ion concentration range of 9.3$\times$10-5 to 94mM. The concentration of sodium ions in the activated sludge mixed liquor seemed to have little effect on the DNP toxicity. However, a lack of sodium in the grwoth media resulted in a reduction of the DNP degradation rate by a bacterial isolate from the activated sludge culture identified as Nocardia asteroides.