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Experimental Study of Biodegradation of Ethanol and Toluene Vapors

Experimental Study of Biodegradation of Ethanol and Toluene Vapors

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CHAPTER THREE – EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES<br />

This chapter describes the materials <strong>and</strong> methods used in the experimental<br />

studies <strong>of</strong> this research. It covers the microorganisms, the growth nutrients <strong>and</strong> culture,<br />

<strong>and</strong> the organic chemicals used in this project. The analytical methods <strong>and</strong> the<br />

experimental procedures applied in this study will also be discussed in this section.<br />

3.1 Microorganisms <strong>and</strong> Chemicals<br />

3.1.1 Microorganism <strong>and</strong> Medium<br />

Strains <strong>of</strong> Pseudomonas are well known for their ability to degrade aromatic<br />

hydrocarbons (Stanier et al., 1966; Reardon et al., 1994, 2000; Brown et al., 2000).<br />

Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 23973), which was used in this study, was kindly provided<br />

by Dr. W. A. Brown at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). Pictures <strong>of</strong> these<br />

bacteria were taken using a 505 Philips (Holl<strong>and</strong>) scanning electron microscope (SEM)<br />

in the Department <strong>of</strong> Biology, University <strong>of</strong> Saskatchewan. The preparation <strong>of</strong> slides for<br />

SEM were based on the procedure reported by Klainer <strong>and</strong> Betsch (1970) <strong>and</strong> Hill<br />

(1974). The unicellular rod shape <strong>of</strong> P. putida is easily observed with the SEM pictures<br />

(See Figures B-1 <strong>and</strong> B-2).<br />

The nutrient medium contained (grams in 1 litre <strong>of</strong> deionized, reverse osmosis<br />

water): KH 2 PO 4 , 1.5; K 2 HPO 4 , 5.0; (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , 2.0; NaCl, 5.0; CaCl 2 , 0.06; MgSO 4<br />

•7H 2 O, 0.2; 0.1mL trace element solution (Dr. Brown, McGill University). The trace<br />

32

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