Research Product

A recently completed field study at the American Creosote Works Superfund site in Pensacola, Florida, demonstrated the effectiveness of selected Pseudomonas strains in degrading a broad group of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) present in highly contaminated ground water. Such molecules typically exhibit carcinogenic and teratogenic effects in animals. Using a sequential bioreactor design, less than 98% of the high molecular weight and less than 99% of medium weight PAH contaminants, with initial concentrations up to 939 ppm, were degraded within 11 days. In the same study, more than 88% of the PCP, present initially at 256 ppm, was also removed. Toxicological analysis of treated material demonstrated the non-hazardous nature of the bioreactor effluent. While these strains are naturally occurring, the potential exists to significantly augment certain practical aspects of field use and performance of these microbes by combining certain key genetic features of two principal strains.