Screening of Efficient Phenol-Degrading Bacteria and Analysis of Their Degradation Characteristics

A strain with high phenol degradation capacity was isolated from the activated sludge of an urban wastewater treatment system in Panshan County, Liaoning Province, by enrichment culture, gradient domestication and plate delineation, and named strain LA1. After morphological observation of colonies, physiological and biochemical identification and 16S rDNA gene sequencing, strain LA1 was initially identified as Stenotrophomonas sp. Examination of environmental factors showed that pH 7, a growth temperature of 35 degrees C and shaking at 150 r/min were the optimal degradation conditions for strain LA1. Under these culture conditions, strain LA1 could completely degrade 1000 mg/L phenol in 18 h. LA1 is the most powerful strain with phenol-reducing ability among the reported genera, which provides some theoretical basis for the treatment of phenol-containing wastewater and technical support for the sustainable development of the wastewater treatment industry.