Biodegradation Of Phenol And Cyanide Compounds By Using Halobacteria

The present study was made an attempt to degrade the phenolic compounds along with co-toxicants by halobacteria isolated from the coconut retting water. Thirty two morphologically different bacterial strains were isolated, of which 3 strains Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus sp. and Pyrococcus horikoshii showed better degradation. However, Pseudomonas putida showed maximum degradation of phenol up to 2000 mg.l-1 without any supplement, but the maximum phenol removal efficiency was observed with the addition of 60 mg.l-1 of cyanide at 96 hrs by Pseudomonas putida and 600 mg.l-1 of thiocyanate at 144 hrs by Bacillus sp. It is concluded from the present study that, the isolated bacterial strains viz., Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus sp. and Pyrococcus horikoshii could be effectively used to degrade the phenolic compounds along with cyanide and thiocyanate under saline environment.