Microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under denitrification conditions in soil-water suspensions

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:5400407

Mihelcic, J R

The microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) under different redox conditions was examined for soil-water suspensions, with particular emphasis on microbial degradation under denitrification conditions. This was accomplished by experimental investigations using various batch tests, and theoretical considerations including a coupled solute desorption-degradation model. Batch microbial degradation tests showed that under aerobic conditions, naphthol, naphthalene, and acenaphthene degraded from initial aqueous-phase concentrations of several mg/liter to nondetectable levels in 10 days or less. Under anaerobic conditions only naphthol degraded to nondetectable levels, whereas naphthalene and acenaphthene exhibited no significant degradation over time. Under denitrification conditions naphthol, naphthalene, and acenaphthene were degraded to nondetectable levels in 16, 45, and 40 days, respectively. A conceptual model was proposed to describe the aqueous-phase concentration of PAH solute under denitrification conditions for soil-water systems maintained under gentle suspension. The microbial degradation of naphthalene in soil-water suspensions under denitrification conditions was modeled by the coupled desorption-degradation approach. A preliminary assessment of the effect of solute hydrophobicity on microbial degradation was modeled for volumetric mean particle radii in the range of 0.01 to 0.1 cm.

• Research Organization: Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5400407
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ACENAPHTHENE
AEROBIC CONDITIONS
ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
AROMATICS
BIODEGRADATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CONDENSED AROMATICS
DECOMPOSITION
DENITRIFICATION
DISPERSIONS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
LAND POLLUTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MIXTURES
NAPHTHALENE
NAPHTHOLS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PHENOLS
POLLUTION
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
SOILS
SOLUTIONS
SUSPENSIONS
WATER POLLUTION