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Degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds under various redox conditions in soil-water systems: Quarterly report, October 1987

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6843230

This study evaluated microbial degradation of naphthol, naphthalene, and acenaphthene under aerobic, strict anaerobic, and denitrification conditions in soil-water systems. Chemical degradation of naphthol and naphthalene in the presence of a manganese oxide was also studied. Naphthol, naphthalene, and acenaphthene were degraded microbially under aerobic conditions from initial aqueous phase concentrations of 9, 7, and 1 mg/l to nondetectable levels in 3, 10, and 10 days respectively. Under anaerobic conditions naphthol degraded to nondetectable levels in 15 days while naphthalene and acenaphthene showed no significant degradation over time periods of 50 and 70 days respectively. Under denitrification conditions naphthol, naphthalene, and acenaphthene were degraded from initial aqueous phase concentrations of 8, 7, and 0.4 mg/l to nondetectable levels in 16, 45, and 40 days respectively. Acclimation periods of approximately 2 days under aerobic conditions, and 2 weeks under denitrification conditions, were observed for both naphthalene and acenaphthene. Abiotic degradation of naphthalene and naphthol were evaluated by reaction with manganese oxide, a minor soil constituent. In the presence of a manganese oxide naphthalene showed no abiotic degradation over a time period of nine weeks, while aqueous naphthol concentration decreased from 9 mg/l to nondetectable levels in 9 days. Results show that low molecular weight, unsubstitued polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are amendable to microbial degradation in soil-water systems under denitrification conditions. These type of compounds may otherwise persist in soil-water systems in the absence of nitrate and molecular oxygen, or a suitable substituent group on the aromatic ring. 27 refs., 10 figs.

Research Organization:
Carnegie Inst. of Tech., Pittsburgh, PA (USA). Dept. of Civil Engineering
DOE Contract Number:
AC21-84FC10619
OSTI ID:
6843230
Report Number(s):
DOE/FC/10619-2518; ON: DE88016843
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English