Biodegradation of Benzene Gas by Candida Tropicalis in Batch Experiment

Abstract

Three sets of batch experiments with different concentration of feed were conducted to observe the biodegradability of benzene gas by yeast strain Candida tropicalis. During the first phase of this study, C. tropicalis was grown in a nutrient solution containing only toluene and benzene as its sole carbon source in an acclimation experiment. There was a delay in the rate of the microbial growth following the nutrient changes, however, the optical density of C. tropicalis reached over 1.200 OD600nm within 9 days of incubation. There was also a positive result of protein and sugar test that proved there were microbial activities happening during the incubation of C. tropicalis with benzene gas as its sole carbon source. The acclimated culture was further studied in a batch experiment of biodegradation. It was found that C. tropicalis managed to remove over 90% of benzene fed within 100 hours of incubation during the batch study.