Enhanced phenol degradation using an immobilized highly efficient degrading fungus on a new porous adsorption material

A highly efficient phenol degradation fungus, named as WJ-1, is segregated from activated sludge and classified as the strain of Candida tropicalis. The phenol degradation performance of the strain WJ-1 and its immobilization on the porous adsorption material (PAM), are systemically studied. The degradation results show that the strain could use phenol as the sole carbon source below 2000 mg/L of the phenol concentration. In the 1000 mg/L phenol solution, phenol could be completely degraded using the strain during 56 h under the optimum phenol degradation conditions, as follows: pH of 7.0, temperature of 30°C, the volumes of bacterial suspension of 30 mL (cells concentration of 4.5 × 1010/mL), and shaking speed of 180 rev/min. Under these conditions, phenol can be entirely degraded by the immobilized strain on the surface of PAM during 44 h with the dosage of PAM 45 g/L.