Enhanced biodegradation of phenol by magnetically immobilized <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichosporon cutaneum</Emphasis>

Aromatic compounds are abundant in aqueous environments due to natural resources or different manufacturer’s wastewaters. In this study, phenol degradation by the yeast, Trichosporon cutaneum ADH8 was compared in three forms namely: free cells, nonmagnetic immobilized cells (non-MICs), and magnetically immobilized cells (MICs). In addition, three different common immobilization supports (alginate, agar, and polyurethane foams) were used for cell stabilization in both non-MICs and MICs and the efficiency of phenol degradation using free yeast cells, non-MICs, and MICs for ten consecutive cycles were studied. In this study, MICs on alginate beads by 12 g/l Fe₂O₃ magnetic nanoparticles had the best efficiency in phenol degradation (82.49%) and this amount in the seventh cycle of degradation increased to 95.65% which was the highest degradation level. Then, the effect of magnetic and nonmagnetic immobilization on increasing the stability of the cells to alkaline, acidic, and saline conditions was investigated. Based on the results, MICs and non-MICs retained their capability of phenol degradation in high salinity (15 g/l) and acidity (pH 5) conditions which indicating the high stability of immobilized cells to those conditions. These results support the effectiveness of magnetic immobilized biocatalysts and propose a promising method for improving the performance of biocatalysts and its reuse ability in the degradation of phenol and other toxic compounds. Moreover, increasing the resistance of biocatalysts to extreme conditions significantly reduces costs of the bioremediation process.