Phenol Degradation from Industrial Wastewater by Engineered Microbes

Abstract

Over the centuries, a tremendous increase in human population has placed a demand for industrial growth, which enhanced the disposal of wastewater and resulted in developing a sustainable technology for wastewater treatment. Phenol and its derivatives are the most pondered substantial pollutants generated from pharmaceutical industries, basic organic chemical manufacturing industries, petroleum refineries, petrochemical industries, coal gasification operations, liquefaction process, tannery, pesticide manufacturing industries, and pulp and paper mills, which contain harmful pollutants that are toxic and carcinogenic in nature. Accumulation of phenol even at a lower concentration may be fatal to all living beings in the ecosystem. This chapter includes the overview of phenol pollution, deleterious effects of phenol in the ecosystem, biodegradation of phenols, and significance of engineered microbes for phenol degradation.