Polychlorinated biphenyls fractioning in aqueous bioremediation assay with Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Abstract

The white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium is able to degrade PCBs in water and in soil. This study aims at estimating the fractioning of truly degraded PCBs, adsorbed PCBs and residual PCBs in an aqueous bioremediation assay with Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Di-, tri- tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-chlorinated biphenyls (IUPAC numbers: PCB28, PCB52, PCB101, PCB118, PCB138, PCB153, PCB180) were extracted from 500 mL aqueous bioremediation assays using a liquid–liquid extraction with n-hexane. Analyses were performed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The study reveals that the adsorbed PCBs fraction ranges from 42% to 54%, whereas the degraded one ranges from 39% to 49%. No PCBs were detected in the residual water (limit of detection: 13 ng L−1).