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Biodegradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls

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Microbial Metabolism of Xenobiotic Compounds

Part of the book series: Microorganisms for Sustainability ((MICRO,volume 10))

Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organic molecules that are stable in nature. They were widely used in the early 1940s. PCBs have entered the ecosystem due to their wide applications via legal and illegal use. Due to its insoluble nature, these environmental contaminants are persistent in the environment, thereby contaminating different ecosystem. This affects the flora and fauna. The environmental persistence of these chlorinated molecules results mainly in the inability of aquatic fauna and soil biota to utilize the compound at a substantial rate. PCBs pose a toxicological risk to the environment and the human due to its ubiquitous distribution. PCBs are linked with many genetic diseases such as cancers, birth defects, tumours, etc. to name a few. Conventional methods of removal such as incineration or desorption are unsafe, expensive and time consuming. The application of microorganisms in the degradation process of PCBs is an excellent alternative which began in the early 1990s. Much research has been conducted on PCB degradation assisted by the microorganisms to determine the methods by which the degradation rate can be improvised. PCB molecule can be utilized and degraded using the aerobic and the anaerobic method. The route of degradation completely depends on the PCB molecule, type of microbial strain, and the interaction between them. The current book chapter reviews the different ways via which the PCB molecule can be biodegraded.

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  1. Microbial Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Biosciences and Technology, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Soumya Nair & Jayanthi Abraham

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  1. Soumya Nair
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  1. Department of Microbiology, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Pankaj Kumar Arora

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Nair, S., Abraham, J. (2019). Biodegradation of Polychlorinated Biphenyls. In: Arora, P. (eds) Microbial Metabolism of Xenobiotic Compounds. Microorganisms for Sustainability, vol 10. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7462-3_13

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