Biodegradation of catechol by Pseudomonas fluorescens isolated from petroleum‐impacted soil

Bioremediation strategies have been applied to clean up petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) impacted sites. Introducing PHC degrading microorganisms (bioaugmentation) and enhancing the in‐situ nutrients availability (biostimulation) are widely used strategies. These strategies can be combined to lead to a better bioremediation performance. In this work, Pseudomonas fluorescens was isolated from a PHC impacted site. Through a 2³ factorial design plan, the effect of various combinations of nitrate, sulphate, and phosphate ions on the PHC bioremediation performance by P. fluorescens was investigated using catechol, an essential metabolic intermediate of BTEX degradation, as the sole carbon source. The maximum specific catechol degradation rate was chosen as the response to evaluate the catechol bioremediation performance. The ANOVA results indicated that the presence of nitrate ions alone lowered the maximum specific catechol degradation rate, which can be explained by the accumulation of nitrites and ammonia during the denitrification process by P. fluorescens. It was noted that dosing sulphate ions alone did not affect the bioremediation performance, which indicates P. fluorescens can grow in a sulphur‐limited environment. In contrast, the presence of sulphate and nitrate ions together can lead to a higher specific catechol degradation rate. This may be caused by the presence of sulphate that can suppress the production of nitrites. The importance of phosphate ions on catechol biodegradation was investigated. The absence of phosphate led to incomplete biodegradation. Introducing phosphate ions can accelerate catechol degradation, which can be explained by the secretion of organic acids.