Reduction characteristic of chlorobenzene by a newly isolated Paenarthrobacter ureafaciens LY from a pharmaceutical wastewater treatment plant

Abstract

AbstractA highly efficient chlorobenzene‐degrading strain was isolated from the sludge of a sewage treatment plant associated with a pharmaceutical company. The strain exhibited a similarity of over 99.9% with multiple strains of Paenarthrobacter ureafaciens. Therefore, the strain was suggested to be P. ureafaciens LY. This novel strain exhibited a broad spectrum of pollutant degradation capabilities, effectively degrading chlorobenzene and other organic pollutants, such as 1, 2, 4‐trichlorobenzene, phenol, and xylene. Moreover, P. ureafaciens LY co‐metabolized mixtures of chlorobenzene with 1, 2, 4‐trichlorobenzene or phenol. Evaluation of its degradation efficiency showed that it achieved an impressive degradation rate of 94.78% for chlorobenzene within 8 h. The Haldane–Andrews model was used to describe the growth of P. ureafaciens LY under specific pollutants and its concentrations, revealing a maximum specific growth rate (μmax) of 0.33 h−1. The isolation and characterization of P. ureafaciens LY, along with its ability to degrade chlorobenzene, provides valuable insights for the development of efficient and eco‐friendly approaches to mitigate chlorobenzene contamination. Additionally, investigation of the degradation performance of the strain in the presence of other pollutants offers important information for understanding the complexities of co‐metabolism in mixed‐pollutant environments.