Biodegradation kinetics of Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b at low concentrations of chloroform in the presence and absence of enzyme competition by methane

Abstract

The kinetics of chloroform and trichloroethylene (TCE) degradation by the methanotroph, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b, were measured in batch kinetic experiments. The experiments focused on initial concentrations of around 100 μg/l for chloroform and around 1 mg/l for TCE. The pseudo first-order rate constants ranged from 0.2 to 0.41/mg TSS-day for chloroform and from 0.5 to 3.31/mg TSS-day for TCE in the absence of methane. Comparison of the TCE rate constants to other work indicates that the organisms were producing the soluble form of their methane monooxygenase. The presence of methane caused significant enzyme competition at methane concentrations as low as 0.35 mg/l, resulting in smaller chloroform rate constants. The decreases in the rate constant were consistent with the predictions of an enzyme competitive inhibition model, which indicated a half saturation coefficient for methane in the order of 0.3 mg/l. The predominant degradation products from chloroform was carbon dioxide.