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The results of the study of removal of nonylphenol, octylphenol and their ethoxylates from real industrial and municipal wastewater are presented. Industrial wastewater was pre-treated by coagulation with FeCl3 and adsorption on zeolite, before discharging into municipal sewer system. Their removal efficiencies in primary sedimentation tank of municipal WWTP were very low. From the practical point of view, the highest and the most significant removal efficiencies within the whole WWTP were observed for nonylphenol and nonylphenol ethoxylates. Dominancy of abiotic mechanisms of alkylphenols removal follows from adsorption measurements. Activated sludge cultivated in lab-scale extended aeration tank accounted for relatively high adsorption affinity to these substances. Activated sludge sampled from municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) receiving industrial wastewater containing alkylphenols accounted for very low adsorption affinity to these pollutants. Significantly higher removal efficiency of octylphenol ethoxylates was observed with the O3/granular active carbon (GAC) process compared to the ozonation process alone. Lower toxicity impact of intermediates and products of ozonation treatment on Vibrio fischeri was measured in comparison to the O3/GAC process. Actually, the municipal WWTP effluent discharge concentration values complies with EQS values, including nonylphenols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospects of using the biostimulation and bioaugmentation treatment for the removal of the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) from contaminated sediment collected from the sewage canal in the surroundings of a former PCB manufacturing plant in Slovakia is described. The eleven bacterial strains isolated in our previous work from sewage Strážsky canal sediments were able to aerobically degrade significant amounts of PCBs. Five of the bacterial isolates obtained were used in bioaugmentation treatment individually as single strains and within the eight artificially prepared consortia consisting of two or three strains. Bioaugmentation by a single strain was performed in other set of experiments combined with the addition of nonionic surfactants (Triton X and Tween 80) to increase bioavailability of PCBs and with the addition of terpenes (carvone and limonene) to induce required enzymes.The highest biodegradation of PCBs in biostimulation treatment was obtained using all three studied factors - addition of nitrogen, phosphorus, and oxygen to the indigenous microorganisms naturally present in the contaminated sediment. The highest biodegradation of PCBs in bioaugmentation experiments was obtained with the individual bacterial isolates (one Gram-positive and one Gram-negative), and with a laboratory prepared consortium consisting of three selected bacterial isolates. Addition of surfactant Tween 80 led to a higher biodegradation of PCBs than that of Triton X. Bioaugmentation treatment using the addition of single bacterial isolate and surfactant Tween 80 improved elimination of the evaluated indicator PCB congeners to the highest extent and thus appeared to be the most perspective technique for possible field bioremediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was focused on the characterization of 15 bacterial strains isolated from long-term PCB-contaminated sediment located at the Strážsky canal in eastern part of Slovakia, in the surroundings of a former PCB producer. PCB-degrading strains were isolated and identified as Microbacterium oleivorans, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Brevibacterium sp., Ochrobactrum anthropi, Pseudomonas mandelii, Rhodococcus sp., Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Stenotrophomonas sp., Ochrobactrum sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Starkeya novella by the 16S rRNA gene sequence phylogenetic analysis. This study presents a newly isolated bacterial strain S. novella with PCB-degrading ability in liquid medium as well as in sediment. For A. xylosoxidans, the bphA gene was identified. The best growth ability in the presence of all sole carbon sources (biphenyl and PCBs vapor) was obtained for Ochrobactrum sp. and Rhodococcus sp. Uncultured Achromobacter sp. showed the highest potential for bioaugmentation of PCB-contaminated sediment., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Bacterial strains living in the environment must cope with the toxic compounds originating from humans production. Surface bacterial structures, cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane, surround each bacterial cell and create selective barriers between the cell interior and the outside world. They are a first site of contact between the cell and toxic compounds. Organic pollutants are able to penetrate into cytoplasmic membrane and affect membrane physiological functions. Bacteria had to evolve adaptation mechanisms to counteract the damage originated from toxic contaminants and to prevent their accumulation in cell. This review deals with various adaptation mechanisms of bacterial cell concerning primarily the changes in cytoplasmic membrane and cell wall. Cell adaptation maintains the membrane fluidity status and ratio between bilayer/nonbilayer phospholipids as well as the efflux of toxic compounds, protein repair mechanisms, and degradation of contaminants. Low energy consumption of cell adaptation is required to provide other physiological functions. Bacteria able to survive in toxic environment could help us to clean contaminated areas when they are used in bioremediation technologies.

In this study, we examined the effect of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the presence of natural and synthetic terpenes and biphenyl on biomass production, lipid accumulation, and membrane adaptation mechanisms of two PCB-degrading bacterial strains Pseudomonas stutzeri and Burkholderia xenovorans LB400. According to the results obtained, it could be concluded that natural terpenes, mainly those contained in ivy leaves and pine needles, decreased adaptation responses induced by PCBs in these strains. The adaptation processes under investigation included growth inhibition, lipid accumulation, composition of fatty acids, cis/trans isomerization, and membrane saturation. Growth inhibition effect decreased upon addition of these natural compounds to the medium. The amount of unsaturated fatty acids that can lead to elevated membrane fluidity increased in both strains after the addition of the two natural terpene sources. The cells adaptation changes were more prominent in the presence of carvone, limonene, and biphenyl than in the presence of natural terpenes, as indicated by growth inhibition, lipid accumulation, and cis/trans isomerization. Addition of biphenyl and carvone simultaneously with PCBs increased the trans/cis ratio of fatty acids in membrane fractions probably as a result of fluidizing effects of PCBs. This stimulation is more pronounced in the presence of PCBs as a sole carbon source. This suggests that PCBs alone have a stronger effect on bacterial membrane adaptation mechanisms than when added together with biphenyl or natural or synthetic terpenes.