Biodegradation of Anthracene: Influence Of selected physiochemical parameters and metabolism

In the present study, Anthracene, a model PAH compound was preferred because of its high toxic and carcinogenic property. Biodegradation was premeditated with an isolated, characterized and acclimatized strain of Alcaligenes faecalis MVMB1 obtained from petroleum contaminated soil. The optimum parameters for maximum anthracene degradation and growth were observed at 2% inoculum concentration and 6.5 pH. Within 40 hrs and at 30°C, the strain metabolized 92.34 % of anthracene (40 mg l⁻¹) under optimized conditions. Experimentally, it was observed that anthracene was inhibitory type substrate as the inhibition effect became predominant above the concentration of 40 mg l⁻¹. Three degradation pathways were proposed based on the identified metabolites. A novel metabolite identified as 9 hydroxy fluorene demonstrates a new branch in anthracene degradation pathway via dihydroxyphthalate. These results indicate that Alcaligenes faecalis MVMB1 is effective in degrading anthracene and also proves its ability to degrade fluorene, another PAH compound.