Anaerobic biodegradation of ether compounds by ether bond-cleaving bacteria and methanogenic consortia
Ether compounds are manufactured for use in nonionic detergents, plastics, pesticides and other products and occur as toxic organic compounds, the most famous being tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin. Ether compounds were considered recalcitrant to anaerobic biodegradation due to the lack of an appropriate oxidant for ether bond-cleavage in reducing environments. Many of these compounds reside in anaerobic environments or are exposed to anaerobic waste treatment processes. Thus, it is of interest to identify: (i) whether ether compounds are anaerobically biodegradable, (ii) the anaerobic microorganisms able to degrade these compounds, and (iii) the mechanism(s) of anaerobic ether bond-cleavage. The ether bonds of polyethylene glycol (PEG; HO-(CH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-O-){sub n}H), phenyl ether ((C{sub 6}H{sub 5}){sub 2}O), and dibenzo-p-dioxin ((C{sub 6}H{sub 4}){sub 2}O{sub 2}) were shown to be degraded in methanogenic consortia enriched with these compounds and polyethoxylate (nonionic) surfactants as substrates. Two anaerobic microorganisms which used PEGs as sole substrates were isolated and characterized. Desulfovibrio desulfuricans strain DG2 degraded the monomer ethylene glycol and oligomers up to tetraethylene glycol (HO-(CH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}-O-){sub 4}H) in length. Bacteroides sp. strain PG1 degraded diethylene glycol and all other polymer lengths of PEG. PEGs were degraded by Bacteroides sp. strain PG1 via an external depolymerization which was either a hydrolytic or a reductive cleavage of the ether bond. The ether bond of diaryl ethers was apparently cleaved by a reductive mechanism which produced benzene and phenol as products from phenyl ether degradation and benzene and, by indirect analysis, catechol from dibenzo-dioxin.
- Research Organization:
- Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 5543207
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BACTERIA
GROWTH
DIOXIN
BIODEGRADATION
ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS
CHEMICAL BONDS
ETHERS
METHANOGENIC BACTERIA
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
DECOMPOSITION
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology