Effect of mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and sediments on fluoranthene biodegradation patterns

The biodegradation of fluoranthene, alone and in mixtures with naphthalene and acenaphthene, was studied in systems with and without sediments. In sediment‐free systems, fluoranthene was not degraded when present alone or in combination with acenaphthene but was degraded when combined with naphthalene. Naphthalene and acenaphthene degradation were not influenced by fluoranthene. In sediment‐containing systems, fluoranthene degradation occurred only in the presence of naphthalene. After complete degradation of naphthalene, fluoranthene degradation stopped. Experiments using all three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in both sediment‐free and ‐containing systems showed results similar to those obtained using pairs.