Heterocyclic Hydrocarbon Degradation using Achromobacter sp. Strain SCT

Environmental pollution caused by petroleum contaminant is a great concern because it possess adverse effects toward living things. Through bioremediation process, the potential degrading bacteria is capable to degrade the hazardous pollutants such as hydrocarbons into less toxic compounds naturally. This study was conducted to study the capability of biodegradation of the bacteria with different substrates and also to measure the rate of biodegradation of the heterocyclic hydrocarbon by bacteria using gas chromatographyflame ionization detector (GC-FID) analysis. In this study, Achromobacter sp. strain SCT was grown on mineral salt medium (MSM) supplemented with 3 different substrates which were carbazole (CAR), dibenzothiophene (DBT) and dibenzofuran (DBF) at 0.1% (v/v) concentration. The bacteria growth profile was observed through spread plate method and expressed in CFU mL"' and spectrophotometrically. The growth test with higher substrates concentration which was up to 1.2% (v/v) and 0.1% (v/v) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) substrates showed all positive results. The rate of biodegradation of the Achromobacter sp. SCT was found out that the bacteria was capable to degrade the CAR, DBT and DBF after 14 days with degradation percentages of 73.24%, 66.65% and 54.61%, respectively