Recent advances in the Biodegradation of Phenol: A review

Aromatic compounds are widely distributed in nature and free phenols are frequently liberated as metabolic intermediates during the degradation of plant materials. In recent years the natural supply of phenolic substances has been greatly increased due to the release of industrial byproducts into the environment. Effluents from petrochemical, textile and coal industries contain phenolic compounds in very high concentration; therefore there is a necessity to remove phenolic compounds from the environment. Among various techniques available for removal of phenols, biodegradation is an environment friendly and cost effective method. This paper describes about the various sources of phenol, various microorganisms involved in the biodegradation including aerobe and anaerobe, effect of environmental parameters on phenol degradation and kinetic analysis of biodegradation, and various