Chapter 3: Microbial Community Involved in Anaerobic Purified Terephthalic Acid Treatment Process

Purified terephthalic acid is one of the most important petrochemical products for our modern life. From an environmental viewpoint, wastewater from the purified terephthalic acid production industry should be treated using effective technologies that guarantee the protection of human health and environmental safety. To do so, anaerobic biological wastewater treatment process is successfully applied for the treatment of purified terephthalic acid wastewater in the world. In the process, methanogenic microbial consortia are key players in the degradation of purified terephthalic acid-related compounds, such as terephthalic acid, p-toluic acid, and benzoate. To date, several studies have been conducted to understand microbial community structures in anaerobic purified terephthalic acid wastewater treating processes and to elucidate their physiology and ecological functions. This chapter will describe the current knowledge of the microbial community structures involved in the degradation of purified terephthalic acid-related compounds in anaerobic wastewater treatment processes.