Enhanced phenol degradation by Pseudomonas sp. SA01: gaining insight into the novel single and hybrid immobilizations

In this work, Pseudomonas sp. SA01 cells were immobilized in a series of singular and hybrid immobilization techniques to achieve enhanced phenol removal. The singular immobilization strategies consisted of various concentrations of alginate (2-4%) and pectin (3-5%), while the hybrid strategies incorporated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-alginate and glycerol-alginate beads and alginate-chitosan-alginate (ACA) capsules. Immobilization protected cells against phenol and resulted in remarkable reduction (65%) in degradation time by cells immobilized in either alginate (3%) beads, in a hybrid PVA-alginate beads, or in ACA capsules compared to freely suspended cells. Cells immobilized in PVA-alginate and ACA provided the best performance in experiments using elevated phenol concentrations, up to 2000 mg/L, with complete degradation of 2000 mg/L phenol after 100 and 110 h, respectively. Electron microscopy examination indicated that cell loading capacity was increased in PVA-alginate hybrid beads through reduced cell leakage, resulting in higher activity of PVA-alginate hybrid beads compared to all other immobilization methods.