Biodegradation of creosote compounds coupled with toxicity studies
- Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Inst. of Environmental Science and Engineering
The inhibition of the aerobic degradation of toluene by the presence of 14 selected creosote-related compounds was investigated in a reduced facto5rial experiment over a period of 16 days. A group of heterocyclic aromatic compounds containing nitrogen, sulfur, or oxygen (NSO), i.e., pyrrole, 1-methylpyrrole, thiophene, and benzofuran had a significant inhibiting effect on the degradation of toluene. If the NSO-compounds were present, no or little degradation of toluene was observed during the experimental period, although toluene was completely degraded within the 16 days in batches without the compounds. Concomitant with the chemical analysis of the samples from the degradation study, toxicity was measured with a bioassay. The toxicity of a sample was determined as inhibition to nitrification. A good correlation was obtained between the presence of creosote compounds and the toxicity of a sample. A statistical analysis revealed that the phenolic compounds and the NSO-compounds caused the toxicity to nitrification. The toxicity decreased as the compounds were biodegraded. In some cases, the toxicity to nitrification disappeared completely, indicating a total mineralization of the compounds or an accumulation of nontoxic intermediates, whereas in other cases a remaining inhibition of 10 to 16% was observed. This may indicate that toxic intermediates were accumulated during the degradation of the creosote compounds.
- OSTI ID:
- 484965
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950483--; ISBN 1-57477-009-8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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