Microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and cyanide in soils from manufactured gas plant sites

Thesis/Dissertation · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6482755

Ho, YiFong

The microbial clean-up of cyanide and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in soils from manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites is the subject of this study. Cyanide was examined for its inhibition on microbial PAH degradation by an MGP-soil isolate identified as a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by classical differential methods as well as 16S rRNA oligonucleotide probes. A strong cyanide-degrading Bacillus pumilus (ATCC No. 7061) strain was used for facilitating cyanide degradation thereby enhancing PAH biodegradation in this soil. This research has validated cyanide interference with the PAH degrader and shown that adding Bacillus pumilus accomplishes the removal of cyanide which subsequently allows Pseudomonas aeruginosa to metabolize PAHs. In addition to the biodegradation of cyanide and lower ring numbered PAHs, the microbial degradation of 4-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by using a mixed culture obtained from another former coal tar contaminated site was also studied. The rate of biotransformation and the abiotic loss due to volatilization were monitored. The 3-ring PAH used in this project was phenanthrene and the 4-ring PAHs used were fluoranthene and pyrene. The results showed that volatilization loss of naphthalene in the control system was substantial while volatilization of higher molecular weight PAH compounds (fluoranthene and pyrene) was negligible. The biodegradation rates of phenanthrene, fluoranthene and pyrene are 6.56, 1.59 and 0.82 mg/L/day, respectively or 65.6, 15.9, 8.2 mg/gram of cells/day assuming 100 mg cells/L in the system. This study indicates that biodegradation of 3- and 4-ring PAHs by mixed cultures obtained from PAH contaminated sites is very promising. These studies will contribute to the understanding of PAH and cyanide removal from MGP and provide information for the design of a bioremediation project to reclaim unusable land that was contaminated through the previous coal gasification process.

• Research Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6482755
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
010900 -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540220 -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
550500* -- Metabolism
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AROMATICS
BACILLUS
BACTERIA
BIODEGRADATION
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CLEANING
COAL GASIFICATION PLANTS
CYANIDES
DECOMPOSITION
DECONTAMINATION
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
HYDROCARBONS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
PSEUDOMONAS
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESPONSE MODIFYING FACTORS
SOILS