Furfural Biodegradation in Consortium through Bacillus licheniformis, Microbacterium sp. and Brevundimonas sp

Furfural (Furan-2-carbaldehyde) is a potentially toxic substance. Indigenous bacterial strains naturally adapted to that contaminant were previously isolated from the effluent of a tannin industry and identified as Microbacterium sp., Bacillus licheniformis and Brevundimonas sp. The aim of this work was to determine the maximum concentration of furfural that can be degraded by bacterial consortium metabolism. The colonies were activated in peptone solution and then in a mineral medium with glucose as co-substrate, adding the bacterial consortium and different concentrations of furfural. They were incubated in a shaker during 72 hours at 30 ºC and 200 rpm. Bacterial growth was monitored by measuring absorbance at 610 nm. The concentration of furfural was analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography. The consortium was able to grow in furfural concentration of up to 4516 mg L-1. Up to 2723 mg L-1 can be degraded in 24 hours. According to these results, a considerable furfural consumption increase is possible with a consortium.