Bioaugmentation production of EDTA-degrading bacterium Burkholderia cepacia YL-6 was carried out in an aerobic fermentor. Three different carbon sources (ferric-ethylenediaminetetraacetate (Fe-EDTA), potassium acetate, and ethylamine) were used. The bacterium cultivated with Fe-EDTA and maintained in the growth phase could reach the maximum cell concentration on the 38th day. Whereas, the bacterium cultivated with potassium acetate and ethylamine reach the maximum cell concentration at the 76th and 100th hour. The viable-cell counts of the augmentation agents made by feeding Fe-EDTA, potassium acetate, and ethylamine were 8.2 x 10(10), 6.8 x 10(11), and 4.3 x 10(11) CFU/g agent, respectively. The EDTA-degradation time required for the afore-mentioned bioaugmentation agents made by feeding various carbon sources lay in the following order: ethylamine < potassium acetate < FeEDTA. Especially, the most efficient bioaugmentation agent (made by feeding ethylamine) only required 10 and 13 days for complete degradation of EDTA from the Fe-EDTA and Cu-EDTA complexes, respectively. It shows that ethylamine was the best substrate for augmentation production of EDTA-degrading bacterium B. cepacia YL-6. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.