Comparison of Pyrene Biodegradation Using Two Types of Marine Bacterial Isolates

Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contaminants have toxic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic properties. Screening bacteria from different sources capable of carrying out the biodegradation of (PAHs) is essential for mapping and mobilization purposes and applying them to polluted hydrocarbon environments. The study aims to compare the capacity of PAH biodegradation by two types of bacteria isolated from different sources. The method applied is the interaction between bacterial suspension and pyrene-contaminated waste for 30 days. Biodegradation products in organic compounds were analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The analysis results found several indications of the performance of bacterial biodegradation: The capacity of pyrene degradation by Bacillus licheniformis strain ATCC 9789 (Bl) bacteria against pyrene was relatively more dominant than Sphingobacterium sp. strain 21 (Sb) bacteria. The percentage of total bacterial biodegradation for product type Sb was (39.00%), and that of the product of bacterial degradation type Bl (38.29%). The biodegradation products of the test bacteria (Bl and Sb) were relatively similar to pyrene in the form of alcohol and carboxylic acid organic compounds. There was no significant difference in the pyrene biodegradation between Bl and Sb bacteria.