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Anaerobic biodegradation of toxic compounds found in industrial wastewater is an attractive solution allowing the recovery of energy and resources but it is still challenging due to the low kinetics making the anaerobic process not competitive against the aerobic one. In this review, we summarise the present state of knowledge on the anaerobic biodegradation process for phenol, a typical target compound employed in toxicity studies on industrial wastewater treatment. The objective of this article is to provide an overview on the microbiological and technological aspects of anaerobic phenol degradation and on the research needs to fill the gaps still hindering the diffusion of the anaerobic process. The first part is focused on the microbiology and extensively presents and characterises phenol-degrading bacteria and biodegradation pathways. In the second part, dedicated to process feasibility, anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation kinetics are analysed and compared, and strategies to enhance process performance, i.e. advanced technologies, bioaugmentation, and biostimulation, are critically analysed and discussed. The final section provides a summary of the research needs. Literature data analysis shows the feasibility of anaerobic phenol biodegradation at laboratory and pilot scale, but there is still a consistent gap between achieved aerobic and anaerobic performance. This is why current research demand is mainly related to the development and optimisation of powerful technologies and effective operation strategies able to enhance the competitiveness of the anaerobic process. Research efforts are strongly justified because the anaerobic process is a step forward to a more sustainable approach in wastewater treatment. Key points • Review of phenol-degraders bacteria and biodegradation pathways. • Anaerobic phenol biodegradation kinetics for metabolic and co-metabolic processes. • Microbial and technological strategies to enhance process performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anaerobic biodegradation of phenol has been realised in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) under anaerobic conditions with phenol as sole carbon and energy source and with glucose as co-substrate. A step-change increase of phenol loading (from 100 up to 2000 mg/L of phenol concentration in the feed solution) has been applied during the acclimation phase in order to progressively induce the development of a specialised microbial consortium. This approach, combined with the dynamic sequence of operations characterising SBRs and with the high biomass retention time, led to satisfactory phenol and COD removal efficiencies with values > 70% for the highest phenol input (2000 mg/L) fed as the single carbon and energy source. Analysis of removal efficiencies and biodegradation rates suggested that the use of glucose as co-substrate did not induce a significant improvement in process performance. Kinetic tests have been performed at different initial phenol (400–1000 mg/L) and glucose (1880–0 mg/L) concentrations to kinetically characterise the developed biomass: estimated kinetic constants are suitable for application and no inhibitory effect due to high concentrations of phenol has been observed in all investigated conditions. The microbial community has been characterised at different operating conditions through molecular tools: results confirm the successful adaptation-operation approach of the microbial consortium showing a gradual increase in richness and diversity and the occurrence and selection of a high proportion of phenol-degrading genera at the end of the experimentation. Key Points • Anaerobic phenol removal in the range of 70–99% in a sequencing batch reactor. • Negligible effect of co-substrate on removal efficiencies and biodegradation rates. • No biomass inhibition due to phenol concentration in the range of 400–1000 mg/L. • Increasing phenol loads promoted the culture enrichment of phenol-degrading genera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biological removal of monoaromatic compounds from contaminated environments, usually arising from industrial activity, is challenging because of the inherent toxicity of these compounds to microorganisms, particularly at the concentrations that can be encountered in industrial waste streams. A wide range of bioprocess designs have been proposed and tested with the aim of achieving high removal efficiencies, with varying degrees of technical success, and potential for practical implementation. This review reports on the progress on variations of well-known themes made in the last 3-4 years, as well as new bioprocess technologies that address the cytotoxicity of monoaromatics directly. Areas for further research are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]