Characteristics of Candida Tropicalis for Phenol Degradation

A yeast strain was isolated from sesame flower and classified as Candida tropicalis, with phenol, resorcin and bengidine as the sole carbon and energy resource. The strain can degrade phenol up to 14.88mmol/L within 48h and the highest phenol concentration to be degraded was 19.13mmol/L. Degradation efficiency of 100% was obtained when the strain was cultivated in NMS medium containing 10.0mmol/L phenol with pH ranging from 4.0 to 9.0 and at temperature ranging from 20℃ to 40℃. The optimum culture conditions for phenol degradation were pH 6.0~8.0, 28℃~30℃, with inoculation ratio ranging from 1% to 3%. Growth and phenol degradation was enhanced when additional nitrogen resource was added into culture medium.