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Appl. Environ. Microbiol., May 1995, 1699-1705, Vol 61, No. 5
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology

Influence of Nonionic Surfactants on Bioavailability and Biodegradation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

F Volkering, AM Breure, JG van Andel and WH Rulkens
Laboratory for Waste Materials and Emissions, National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection, 3720 BA Bilthoven, and Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen Agricultural University, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands

The presence of the synthetic nonionic surfactants Triton X-100, Tergitol NPX, Brij 35, and Igepal CA-720 resulted not only in increased apparent solubilities but also in increased maximal rates of dissolution of crystalline naphthalene and phenanthrene. A model based on the assumption that surfactant micelles are formed and act as a separate phase underestimated the dissolution rates; this led to the conclusion that surfactants present at concentrations higher than the critical micelle concentration affect the dissolution process. This conclusion was confirmed by the results of batch growth experiments, which showed that the rates of biodegradation of naphthalene and phenanthrene in the dissolution-limited growth phase were increased by the addition of surfactant, indicating that the dissolution rates were higher than the rates in the absence of surfactant. In activity and growth experiments, no toxic effects of the surfactants at concentrations up to 10 g liter(sup-1) were observed. Substrate present in the micellar phase was shown to be not readily available for degradation by the microorganisms. This finding has important consequences for the application of (bio)surfactants in biological soil remediation.

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