Abstract
Sphingobium fuliginis OMI, a 4-t-butylphenol utilizing bacterium, can degrade bisphenol S (BPS), which is known to be a persistent substance. In the present study, we estimated the BPS degradation pathway by the strain OMI. Additionally, the possibility of the removal of the BPS metabolites by using activated sludge was evaluated. One or two of the phenolic rings of BPS was initially hydroxylated and then, the aromatic ring was cleaved via a meta-cleavage pathway by the strain OMI. Since several metabolites remained as dead-end products, a negligible amount of DOC was removed during BPS degradation by the strain OMI. Also, activated sludge removed neither BPS nor DOC. On the other hand, the BPS metabolites, which are produced from the BPS degradation by the strain OMI, were removed by using activated sludge, through biodegradation, adsorption and/or chemical decomposition, resulting in a 39% decrease in DOC. The present study demonstrated that the initial degradation of BPS by the strain OMI could be useful for the removal of BPS by the activated sludge process.
