Enhanced biodegradation of creosote contaminated soil using a nonionic surfactant
- West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
There is a growing concern in the US about the increasing number of industrial sites containing concentration of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in their soil and waste sludge above background levels. Low molecular weight PAHs are generally considered as extremely toxic compounds, whereas the higher molecular weight PAHs are carcinogenic in nature. The aqueous solubility and volatility of PAHs decrease with increasing molecular weight. Bioremediation, a viable option for treatment of PAH contaminated soils, can reduce PAH concentration to acceptable levels. It is primarily a water-based process influenced by sorption (absorption/desorption), diffusion and dissolution mechanisms which serve to control the accessibility of the organics to the bacteria that are present in water. In most cases, sorption is the rate limiting step controlling, both the rate and extent of biodegradation. The process of bioremediation can be enhanced by application of surfactant by increasing the availability of the organic compounds to the microorganisms. In previous bioremediation studies, the use of several kinds of surfactant was found to enhance the solubility of hydrophobic compounds. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a nonionic surfactant on biodegradation of creosote contaminated soil.
- OSTI ID:
- 250904
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9507204--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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