• KSBB Journal
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.315-321
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• 1999

The relationships between the explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) degradation by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and several relevant physicochemical environmental parameters were examined. At neutral pH of the cultures, the degradation of TNT proceeded to completion, whereas only about 50% of TNT was utilized when the cultures were adjusted to acidic pH. The effect of various co-substrates (e.g., glucose, fructose, acetate, citrate, succinate) on the degradation of TNT by the test culture of S. maltophilia was evaluated. The results indicated that, among the various co-substrates studies, the test culture that received 2 mM fructose degraded 100 mg/L of TNT completely within 20 days of incubation at ambient temperature, whereas partial degradation of TNT was observed in the test culture with acetate, citrate, or succinate as a co-substrate, respectively. In fact, fructose was the best co-substrate for TNT degradation in this experiment. The effect of supplemented nitrogens [e.g., (NH$_4$)$_2$,SO$_4$, NH$_4$Cl. urea] on the TNT degradation was monitored. All supplemented nitrogens in this study were inhibitory to TNT degradation. Addition of 1% Tween80 accelerated TNT degradation, and showed complete degradation of TNT within 8 days of incubation. Addition of yeast extract resulted higher growth yields, based on turbidity measurement, but it inhibited TNT degradation.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.695-698
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• 2002

The biodegradation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was performed on a laboratory scale using P. putida originally isolated from explosive-contaminated soil. One hundred mg/1 of TNT was completely degraded within 20 h under optimum conditions. Various supplemental energy sources (carbon sources, nitrogen sources, and surfactant) were tested, with the main objective of identifying an inexpensive source and enhancing the degradation rate for large-scale biodegradation. Based on the degradation rate, molasses was selected as a possible supplemental carbon source, along with NH$_4$Cl and Tween 80 as a nitrogen source and surfactant, respectively. The degradation rate increased about 3.3 fo1d when supplemental energy sources were added and the degradation rate constant increased from 0.068 h$\^$-1/ to 0.224 h$\^$-1/. These results appear to be promising in application of the process to TNT-contaminated soil applications.

• Mycobiology
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.17-20
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• 2009

White-rot fungus Irpex lacteus degraded TNT significantly in proportion to the culture time. After 48 h incubation, about 95% of TNT was degraded. Two reduced metabolites were identified as 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene (4-ADNT) and 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene (2-ADNT) which was further degraded.

• Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering:BBE
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.105-111
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• 2002

The biological removal of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) was studied in a bench-scale bioreactor using a bacterial culture of strain OK-5 originally Isolated from soil samples contaminated with TNT. The TNT was completely removed within 4 days of incubation in a 2.5 L bench-scale bioreactor containing a newly developed medium. The TNT was catabolized in the presence of different supplemented carbons. Only minimal growth was observed in the killed controls and cultures that only received TNT during the incubation period. This catabolism was affected by the concentration ratio of the substrate to the biomass. The addition of various nitrogen sources produced a delayed effect for the TNT degradation. Tween 80 enhanced the degradation of TNT under these conditions. Two metabolic intermediates were detected and identified as 2-amino-4, 6-dinitrotoluene and 4-amino-2, 6-dinitrotoluene based on HPLC and GC-MS analyses, respectively. Strain OK-5 was characterized using the BIOLOG system and fatty acid profile produced by a microbial identification system equipped with a Hewlett Packard HP 5890 II gas chromatograph. As such, the bacterium was identified as a Stenotrophomonas species and designated as Stenotrophomonas sp. OK-5.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.3
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• pp.193-198
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• 2002

Several 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) degrading bacteria were isolated from an activated sludge by an enrichment culture technique, and their TNT removal activities were examined. Among the isolates, strain C1 showed the highest degrading capability, and completely removed 100 or 200 mg I$\^$-1/ of TNT within 6 hours of incubation. This bacterium was identified as Klebsiella sp. The effects of different carbon sources on the removal of the parent TNT by Klebsiella sp. C1 were negligible, but the transformation rates of TNT metabolites such as amino-dinitrotoluenes and diamino-nitrotoluenes were higher with fructose addition compared to glucose addition. When nitrate was used as the nitrogen source, the degradation rates of TNT and hydroxylamino-dinitrotoluenes were higher than those with the ammonium addition. Although the TNT removal rate of Klebsiella sp. C1 was slightly higher in anaerobic conditions, the further transformations of TNT metabolites were more favorable in aerobic conditions.

• KSBB Journal
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.556-562
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• 2009

The biological treatment of TNT-containing wastewater, known commonly as pink water, was investigated using a stirred tank reactor with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia OK-5 bacterial culture. S. maltophilia OK-5 exhibited effective degradation of TNT contained in pink water, completely degrading TNT (100 mg/L) within 6 days of incubation. The dark-red brown color derived from Hydride-Meisenheimer complex became more pronounced during the incubation period, which was determined quantitatively. High-pressure liquid chromatography was used to measure residual TNT, which also resolved the metabolic intermediates (i.e., 2,4-dinitrotoluene, 2,6-dinitrotoluene and 2,4-dinitro-6-hydroxytoluene). Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to verify these intermediates. Quantification of the nitroreductase (pnrB) gene isolated from S. maltophilia OK-5 growing in pink water was performed with real-time PCR. The amount of pnrB gene copies increased to $10^3$-fold after 5 days of incubation time.