Removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol by suspended and immobilized Bacillus insolitus

In this experiment, Bacillus insolitus was isolated and selected from a mixed culture that have been acclimated to chlorophenols. Decomposition of chlorophenolic compounds will be studied using this pure culture in both suspended and immobilized form. The results are: at lower initial concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol (10–50 mg/l), immobilized Bacillus insolitus shows a higher removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol than Bacillus insolitus in suspended growth. When the 2,4-dichlorophenol concentration becomes higher (50–200 mg/l), both immobilized and suspended Bacillus insolitus have approximately the same efficiency for removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol. Higher concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol are inhibitive to the growth of either suspended or immobilized Bacillus insolitus. At lower concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol, immobilized mixed culture may have the same removal efficiency of 2,4-dichlorophenol as immobilized pure culture of Bacillus insolitus. But with regard to the overall 2,4-dichlorophenol removal efficiency, immobilized pure culture is considered to be superior to immobilized mixed culture.