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The role of electron donors generated from UV photolysis for accelerating pyridine biodegradation
Author(s) -
Tang Yingxia,
Zhang Yongming,
Yan Ning,
Liu Rui,
Rittmann Bruce E.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.25605
Subject(s) - photodissociation , pyridine , biodegradation , chemistry , photochemistry , organic chemistry
Employing an internal circulation baffled biofilm reactor (ICBBR), we evaluated the mechanisms by which photolysis accelerated the biodegradation and mineralization of pyridine (C 5 H 5 N), a nitrogen‐containing heterocyclic compound. We tested the hypothesis that pyridine oxidation is accelerated because a key photolysis intermediate, succinate, is as electron donor that promotes the initial mono‐oxygenation of pyridine. Experimentally, longer photolysis time generated more electron‐donor products (succinate), which stimulated faster pyridine biodegradation. This pattern was confirmed by directly adding succinate, and the stimulation effect occurred similarly with addition of the same equivalents of acetate and formate. Succinate, whether generated by UV photolysis or added directly, also accelerated mono‐oxygenation of the first biodegradation intermediate, 2‐hydroxyl pyridine (2HP). 2HP and pyridine were mutually inhibitory in that their mono‐oxygenations competed for internal electron donor; thus, the addition of any readily biodegradable donor accelerated both mono‐oxygenation steps, as well as mineralization. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2015;112: 1792–1800. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.