A study of the efficiency of edible oils degraded in alkaline conditions by Pseudomonas aeruginosa SS-219 and Acinetobacter sp. SS-192 bacteria isolated from Japanese soil.

High lipid concentration contained in wastewater inhibits the activity of microorganisms in biological wastewater treatment systems such as activated sludge and methane fermentation. To reduce the inhibitory effects, microorganisms capable of efficiently degrading edible oils were screened from various environmental sources. From Japanese soil, we isolated 2 bacteria strains with high degradation abilities at an alkaline pH without consumption of biological oxygen demand (BOD) constituents. Acinetobacter sp. strain SS-192 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain SS-219 degraded 77.5 ± 0.6% and 89.5 ± 1.5%, respectively, of 3,000 ppm of mixed oil consisting of salad oil/lard/beef tallow (1/1/1, w/w/w) at 37°C and pH 9.0 in 24 h. Efficient degradation by the two strains occurred at pH 8-9 and 25-40°C. Strain SS-219 degraded lipids even at pH 3. The degradation rate of 3,000 ppm of salad oil, lard, and beef tallow by strain SS-192 was 79.9 ± 2.6%, 63.6 ± 1.9%, and 70.1 ± 1.2%, respectively, during a 24-h cultivation. The degradation rate of 3,000 ppm of salad oil, lard, and beef tallow by strain SS-219 was 82.3 ± 2.1%, 71.9 ± 2.2%, and 71.0 ± 1.1%, respectively, during a 24-h cultivation. After mixed oil degradation by both strains, the BOD value of the cell culture increased from 2,100 ppm to 3,200-4,000 ppm. The fact that neither strain utilizes BOD ingredients will be beneficial to pretreatment of methane fermentation systems such as upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactors. In addition, the growth of usual heterotrophic microorganisms utilizing soluble BOD can be suppressed under alkaline pH.