Abstract

Sulfanilic acid is a representative intermediate of some sulfonated azo dyes. A bacterial strain isolated from the river in Wenzhou, could utilize sulfanilic acid as the solo carbon source and energy source. Based on its morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics as well as 16SrRNA sequences the bacterial strain was identified as Ochrobactrum anthrop. Effective biodegradation of sulfanilic acid occurred at pH ranging from 6 to 8. The optimum growth temperature and pH for the bacterial strain to utilize sulfanilic acid are 30°C and 7.0 respectively. Its most favorable sulfanilic acid concentration is 300mg/L.