Impact of Perfluorocarbons with Gas Transport Function on Growth of Phototrophic Microorganisms in a Free and Immobilized State and in Consortia with Bacteria

Featured Application The results obtained in this work may be of scientific and practical significance for the development of new biocatalytic approaches to the treatment of wastewater of complex composition, contaminated by perfluorocarbons and organophosphorus compounds, with simultaneous production of biomass of phototrophic microorganisms as renewable raw materials with a wide range of possibilities for conversion into valuable products. The results can also be taken into account for predicting changes in aquatic ecosystems when the mentioned pollutants enter them. The effects of the presence of perfluorocarbons (PFC) with a gas transport function in media with different phototrophic microorganisms on their growth rates and the accumulation of their biomass when using free and immobilized cells as inoculums were investigated. The significant increase in the average rate of biomass accumulation as well as levels of biomass accumulation in the presence of various PFCs were established for Chlorella vulgaris cells. When 1 g/L glycerol was introduced into the growth medium with PFCs and C. vulgaris cells, the increase in the rate of biomass accumulation was 9-32%. The maximum intracellular ATP concentrations corresponded to the combination of microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris) with bacterial cells (Pseudomonas esterophilus and Rhodoccus ruber) obtained with a mass ratio of 25:1. It provided for the formation of a consortium, which was able to accumulate the maximum amount of microalgae biomass for 3 days in the medium with PFCs and organophosphorus pesticide. The obtained data allow, on the one hand, predicting the growth of microalgae under environmental conditions in media with PFC pollution and, on the other hand, developing approaches to regulation of phototrophic microorganisms' growth in order to obtain and use their high biomass yields for various purposes.

Automated summary

The results of this study are important for the development of new biocatalytic approaches to treat complex wastewater contaminated by perfluorocarbons and organophosphorus compounds. The study also showed the potential for simultaneous production of phototrophic microorganisms as renewable raw materials and predicting changes in aquatic ecosystems. The investigation found that the presence of perfluorocarbons significantly increased the biomass accumulation rate for Chlorella vulgaris cells, and a consortium of microalgae and bacterial cells achieved the highest biomass yield.