Method for degradation of hydroxy- and methoxy-polychlorobiphenyls with immobilized bacterial cells

A method for the destruction of chemically modified PCBs (hydroxy- and methoxy-PCBs) using cells of the strain Rhodococcus wratislaviensis KT112-7 immobilized on a carbon inert carrier was proposed. Equations that describe the dynamics of substrate loss were calculated. It was shown that in the daily cultivation mode, the decomposition process was faster than in the cultivation mode for four days. In the short-term cultivation (24 hours), in 1 h, 1 g of cells decomposed 0.017 g of modified PCBs, in the long-term cultivation (96 hours), 0.008 g of modified PCBs. Thus, the use of immobilized cells of an active PCBs destructor strain allows efficient destruction of a mixture of modified PCBs.