Enhancing the bioavailability of organic compounds sequestered in soil and aquifer solids
- Cornell Univ., Ithaca, New York, NY (United States)
- Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, CT (United States)
A study was conducted to find ways to increase the biodegradability of compounds that have aged in soil or aquifer material and become less bioavailable. Slurrying enhanced the rate and extent of biodegradation by individual bacterial strains of aged and unaged phenanthrene and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in soils and aquifer solids. After bacterial degradation of aged phenanthrene in unslurried soil had largely ceased, the residual compound was metabolized if the soil was slurried and reinoculated with a phenanthrene-degrading bacterium. The rate and extent of biodegradation of aged phenanthrene by Pseudomonas sp. were enhanced when anthracene or pyrene was added to the soil at the same time as the bacterium, although the organism could not metabolize anthracene or pyrene. Moreover, anthracene or pyrene increased the amount of aged phenanthrene removed from soil by a mild extractant. The data show that the bioavailability of organic compounds that become sequestered by aging can be altered by appropriate soil treatments.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 361920
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 18, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Feb 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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