CONCLUSION
Acclimatization of microorganisms to phenol has improved microbe’s survival rate as well as affinity to the substrate. No significant improvement in phenol reduction shown by acclimatized culture compared to non-acclimatized one. Phenol concentrations above 500 ppm might inhibit the culture and resulted in lower rate of phenol reduction. This is true for both batch and continuous modes. In short, in this study we have successfully established key operating parameters (i.e. dilution rates, maximum specific growth rate and feeding concentration) for phenol degradation using microbes from wastewater and provide useful guideline for future scaling works.