EN
The bacterial degradation of phenol by Alcaligenes xylosoxidans and Pseudomonas putida was studied in a laboratory-scale stirred tank bioreactor. Several kinetic experiments were employed to obtain values of kinetic parameters by applying nonlinear regression methods to differential kinetic models and integrated experimental data. The extra sum of squares for statistical tests of reliability of proposed kinetic models was attached. The values of kinetic parameters based on the Haldane substrate inhibition model for both strains were: μmax=0.347 h-1, Ks=21.5 mg/1 and K1=707 mg/1 for Alcaligenes and μmax=1.988 h-1, Ks=15.92 mg/1 and K1=197.7 mg/1 for Pseudomonas. The measured yield coefficients YX/s were in agreement with values commonly published in literature (0.3-0.8). Degradation rates up to 0.5 g/(l- h) were obtained.