ABSTRACT
This study is focused on the removal, accumulation and degradation of three environmental ubiquitous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenanthrene (PHE), fluoranthene (FLA) and pyrene (PYR), by the marine alga Rhodomonas baltica enriched from the English Channel. After separation, purification and culture in several phases, R. baltica was exposed to PAH concentrations that are frequently encountered in the field in several anthropized environments. The results showed that R. baltica can grow under PAH stress, efficiently remove up to 70% of these compounds from the medium by 216 h of culture and selectively bioaccumulate PAHs by their hydrophobicity. Between PHE, FLA and PYR, phenanthrene was the compound with higher degradation rates throughout incubation. The equilibrium partitioning theoretical approach showed that physico-chemical partitioning, rather than active bioconcentration, was the major factor governing the bioaccumulation, outlying a potential application in decontamination processes for this species.