Contamination with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) often causes taste and odor (T&O) problems in drinking water due to its low odor threshold concentration. Microbial O-methylation of the precursor 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) would be the dominant mechanism for TCA formation. Simple and rapid measurement of TCP in the low concentration range is necessary to control the problems induced by TCA. In this study, the combination of microbial conversion and instrumental analysis was proposed as a method of TCP quantification. Fungi and bacteria were isolated from various water samples and examined for their ability to produce TCA from TCP. As a result, a strain exhibiting quantitative TCA production and a high growth rate was obtained and named Mycolicibacterium sp. CB14. The conversion rate of TCP to TCA by this strain was found to be high and stable (85.9 ± 5.3%), regardless of the applied TCP concentration, although within the range of 0.1-10 µg/L. The limits of detection and quantification for TCP by this proposed method were determined to be 5.2 ng/L and 17.3 ng/L, respectively. By improving the methods, Mycolicibacterium sp. CB14 could be used for the quantification of TCP at very low concentration levels, which is sufficient to manage the T&O problem caused by TCA.
Keywords: 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA); 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP); O-methylation; odor threshold.