Effects of exposure times on the toxic response of ammonia oxidizing mixed culture (AOMC) to phenol and chlorinated phenols

This study investigated the effect of exposure times on the response of ammonia oxidizing mixed culture (AOMC) to phenolic compounds while having the future goal to develop a biosensor using AOMC for toxicity monitoring. AOMC was used instead of purified nitrifying culture because of the ease of culture development. The oxygen utilization rate (OUR) was measured during three exposure periods; 0–15, 25–40 and 50–65 min. It was found that phenolic compounds have a strong inhibitory effect on AOMC. The percentage of OUR reduction increased with higher concentrations and the extended exposure times improved the toxic response of AOMC, especially to the lower concentrations (0.25, 0.50, 1.0 mg/L). Further, AOMC detoxifying mechanisms might result in the reduction of toxic response when the longest exposure time was applied. However, at the higher concentrations (2.5 and 5.0 mg/L), the extended exposure times did not have a critical effect on the response pattern of AOMC, especially for phenol and mono-chlorinated phenols. It was illustrated that AOMC is very sensitive to phenolic compounds and its sensitivity is high enough for the detection of phenolic compounds at the level of effluent standard in Thailand and Japan with a rapid response time of 15 min. To improve the sensitivity of AOMC to low phenolic compound concentrations, an extended exposure time of 25–40 min would be recommended.