Bioavailability and biodegradation kinetics protocol for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil to enhance bioremediation and to achieve environmentally acceptable endpoints during treatment
- Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH (United States)
- Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering
Bioremediation of polluted soil requires a fundamental understanding of biodegradation kinetics and the physicochemical factors that control the rate of biodegradation. A systematic multi-level indigenous microbiota, the transport and diffusivity parameters of soil polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminants and oxygen limitation in freshly PAH spiked and PAH contaminated aged soil matrices. Abiotic adsorption and desorption experiments were conducted to obtain nonlinear isotherms described by the Freundlich isotherm equation. Detailed mathematical models were developed for the four bioreactors and abiotic adsorption and desorption studies together with cumulative oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide evolution data are used to derive the PAH contaminant and oxygen diffusivities in the freshly PAH spiked and PAH contaminated aged soil matrices. Studies included the use of microcosms to qualitatively assess the biodegradation rates and testing with radiolabeled compounds to determine mineralization. Studies with PAH contaminated Reilly Tar soils were undertaken to determine the effect of soil properties on the sequestering process that leads to diminished bioavailability; to evaluate the effect of chemical inducers, surfactants, nutrients, cometabolites, inoculum amendments and moisture content on the rate and extent of PAH biodegradation; and to establish the best attainable environmental endpoints for PAH pollutants in aged soils.
- OSTI ID:
- 462552
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961149--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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