Denitrification with acrylamide by pure culture of bacteria isolated from acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene resin manufactured wastewater treatment system

Acrylamide is widely used in industrial applications as cement binder and solidification agent. Due to its carcinogenicity and toxicity, discharge of acrylamide to the natural water and soil systems may lead to an adverse environmental impact on water quality and thus endanger public health and welfare. This study attempts to isolate and identify the denitrifying bacteria, which utilize acrylamide as the substrate from the acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene resin manufactured wastewater treatment system. The performance of the denitrifying bacteria for treating different initial acrylamide concentrations was also investigated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The test results indicated that the Pseudomonas stutzeri could remove acrylamide at concentrations below 440 mg/l under aerobic conditions. The acrylic acid and ammonia intermediates were used as carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. However, P. stutzeri did not show the capability of metabolizing acrylonitrile under aerobic conditions. Furthermore, the P. stutzeri could utilize both acrylamide and acrylic acid in the presence of nitrate (denitrification) and acrylamide could be removed completely from the wastewater.