Adsorption and Biodegradation of 1-Methyl Naphthalene Using Immobilized Pseudomonas macerans and Bacillus subtilis on Burnt Kaolin

This work is aimed at assessing the effect of incorporating Pseudomonas macerans and Bacillus subtilis on burnt kaolin (BK) during the biodegradation of 1-methyl naphthalene. The biodegradation was monitored by determining the concentration of CO2 released. Immobilized Pseudomonas macerans on BK released CO2 in the range of 0.72 - 0.83 mg/L, while this was 0.68 - 0.78 mg/L with Bacillus subtilis; for the degradation alone the range was 0.39 - 0.46 mg/L after 72 h. Generally, the concentration of carbon (IV) oxide released by the immobilized Pseudomonas macerans was more than that by Bacillus subtilis. Therefore, immobilization using BK resulted to better removal of the organic pollutant. The FTIR indicated presence of new peaks within the regions 3272-3265cm-1 and 1647-1640cm-1 attributed to overlapping of hydroxyl (-OH) and carbonyl (C=O) stretching in carboxylic acid. The absorptions within 1114-1088 cm-1, and at 1408cm-1 are due to C-O stretching and O-H in plane bending of carboxylic acid respectively. The use of kaolin for environmental clean-up of organic pollutants will enhance the value chain of solid minerals in Nigeria.