Bioremediation treatment of hydrocarbon-contaminated Arctic soils: influencing parameters (original) (raw)
Related papers
On site bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated Arctic tundra soils in inoculated biopiles
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2001
There is a need to develop technology to allow the remediation of soil in polar regions that have been contaminated by hydrocarbon fuel spills. Bioremediation is potentially useful for this purpose, but has not been well demonstrated in polar regions. We investigated biopiles for on-site bioremediation of soil contaminated with Arctic diesel fuel in two independent smallscale field experiments at different sites on the Arctic tundra. The results were highly consistent with one another. In biopiles at both sites, extensive hydrocarbon removal occurred after one summer. After 1 year in treatments with optimal conditions, total petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced from 196 to below 10 mg per kg of soil at one site, and from 2,109 to 195 mg per kg of soil at the other site. Addition of ammonium chloride and sodium phosphate greatly stimulated hydrocarbon removal and indicates that biodegradation was the primary mechanism by which this was achieved. Inoculation with cold-adapted, mixed microbial cultures further stimulated hydrocarbon removal during the summer immediately following inoculation. At one site, soil temperature was monitored during the summer season, and a clear plastic cover increased biopile soil temperature, measured as degree-day accumulation, by 30-49%. Our results show that on-site bioremediation of fuel-contaminated soil at Arctic tundra sites is feasible.
Bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated polar soils
Extremophiles, 2006
Bioremediation is increasingly viewed as an appropriate remediation technology for hydrocarboncontaminated polar soils. As for all soils, the successful application of bioremediation depends on appropriate biodegradative microbes and environmental conditions in situ. Laboratory studies have confirmed that hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria typically assigned to the genera Rhodococcus, Sphingomonas or Pseudomonas are present in contaminated polar soils. However, as indicated by the persistence of spilled hydrocarbons, environmental conditions in situ are suboptimal for biodegradation in polar soils. Therefore, it is likely that ex situ bioremediation will be the method of choice for ameliorating and controlling the factors limiting microbial activity, i.e. low and fluctuating soil temperatures, low levels of nutrients, and possible alkalinity and low moisture. Care must be taken when adding nutrients to the coarse-textured, low-moisture soils prevalent in continental Antarctica and the high Arctic because excess levels can inhibit hydrocarbon biodegradation by decreasing soil water potentials. Bioremediation experiments conducted on site in the Arctic indicate that land farming and biopiles may be useful approaches for bioremediation of polar soils.
It has been studied restoration processes in oil products-polluted soils at high northern latitudes (the Murmansk region, Russia). Mineral and organic fertilizers and a bacterial preparation (based on the local strains of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria) were applied for restore polluted soils. Periods of removing OP (oil products) from soil were determined by the reduction of the pollutant concentration and by soil biological activities-the dynamics of bacteria number and CO 2 emission from soil. The soil OP even at such a high concentration (as 10 L/m 2 ) had stimulated bacterial reproduction. In three summer month levels in the control variant without ameliorators of OP content decreased by 59% from the initial level, in the variant with mineral and organic fertilizers by 86%, in the variant with the bacterial preparation by 84%. Stimulating of indigenous microorganisms activity with additional nutrients was no less effective technique of OP-polluted soil bioremediation, than applying the bacterial preparation, which requires considerable financial investment. Moderately contaminated of OP soil is a source of additional carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere. Pollution soil with OP caused for increasing of share of potentially pathogenic fungi in the fungal community.
Bioremediation treatability assessment of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils from Eureka, Nunavut
Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2001
The bioremediation potential of three hydrocarbon-contaminated soil samples with diverse soil physicalrchemical characteristics from Eureka, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, was assessed. Microbial enumeration by viable plate counts and Ž . Ž q MPN analyses combined with molecular analysis PCR and colony hybridization for hydrocarbon catabolic genes alkB , q q . xylE , ndoB demonstrated the presence of significant numbers of aerobic cold-adapted hydrocarbon-degrading organisms in the three contaminated soils. The degradative activities of the indigenous microbial populations were assessed by 14 Ž
Bioremediation of Oil-Polluted Cultivated Soils in the Euro-Arctic Region
It has been studied restoration processes in oil products-polluted soils at high northern latitudes (the Murmansk region, Russia). Mineral and organic fertilizers and a bacterial preparation (based on the local strains of hydrocarbon-oxidizing bacteria) were applied for restore polluted soils. Periods of removing OP (oil products) from soil were determined by the reduction of the pollutant concentration and by soil biological activities-the dynamics of bacteria number and CO 2 emission from soil. The soil OP even at such a high concentration (as 10 L/m 2 ) had stimulated bacterial reproduction. In three summer month levels in the control variant without ameliorators of OP content decreased by 59% from the initial level, in the variant with mineral and organic fertilizers by 86%, in the variant with the bacterial preparation by 84%. Stimulating of indigenous microorganisms activity with additional nutrients was no less effective technique of OP-polluted soil bioremediation, than applying the bacterial preparation, which requires considerable financial investment. Moderately contaminated of OP soil is a source of additional carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere. Pollution soil with OP caused for increasing of share of potentially pathogenic fungi in the fungal community.
In situ biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in frozen arctic soils
Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2003
In this in situ study performed at a hydrocarbon contaminated site at Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen, temperatures down to 6.6 m and soil gas composition of O 2 , CO 2 and VOC at depths of 0.7, 2.0 and 3.5 m at the plume site (B) and the less contaminated site (R) were followed from the beginning of October to the middle of February. Soil samples from the actual depths at B and R were characterised by soil chemical parameters, nutrients, hydrocarbon concentration and enumeration of relevant microbial populations. The objective of the study was to assess whether in situ biodegradation of hydrocarbons was taking place in the contaminated frozen soil and to follow a possible reduction in the degradation activity in the following winter months. From the results we concluded that zero degrees are not an ultimate limit for in situ biodegradation of hydrocarbons by coldadapted microorganisms and that biodegradation may proceed with the same activity at subzero temperatures. From the comparison between calculated and measured reaeration of the hydrocarbon contaminated soil profile it appeared that biodegradation of hydrocarbons may also proceed at subzero temperatures during the winter at this arctic site. The observations in this study increase the possible scenarios concerning temperature design and effects in future in situ bioremediation strategies in arctic soil.
Remediation of hydrocarbon contaminated soils in the Canadian Arctic by landfarming
Cold Regions Science and Technology, 2008
One of the preferred methods for the remediation of fuel contaminated soil today is landfarming. This is particularly true for remote sites because the method requires minimal equipment and is therefore by far the lowest cost option. The term landfarming generally refers to the process whereby hydrocarbon contaminated soils are spread out in a layer about half a meter thick, nutrients are added, and periodically the soils may be mixed. During landfarming, hydrocarbons can be lost through volatilization or bioremediation and thus landfarming refers to the combination of the two processes.
Biology, 2021
The increased usage of petroleum oils in cold regions has led to widespread oil pollutants in soils. The harsh environmental conditions in cold environments allow the persistence of these oil pollutants in soils for more than 20 years, raising adverse threats to the ecosystem. Microbial bioremediation was proposed and employed as a cost-effective tool to remediate petroleum hydrocarbons present in soils without significantly posing harmful side effects. However, the conventional hydrocarbon bioremediation requires a longer time to achieve the clean-up standard due to various environmental factors in cold regions. Recent biotechnological improvements using biostimulation and/or bioaugmentation strategies are reported and implemented to enhance the hydrocarbon removal efficiency under cold conditions. Thus, this review focuses on the enhanced bioremediation for hydrocarbon-polluted soils in cold regions, highlighting in situ and ex situ approaches and few potential enhancements via th...
Laboratory-scale bioremediation experiments on hydrocarbon-contaminated soils
International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 2004
Successful application of bioremediation technology to contaminated soil requires knowledge of the characteristics of the site and the parameters that a ect the microbial biodegradation of pollutants. Here, we propose a simple protocol for biotreatability assays in two phases. In the ÿrst phase of the assays we examined the type and metabolic activity of the indigenous microorganisms at the site, and the presence of possible inhibitors. The biodegradability of contaminants in soil slurries under optimal conditions was also tested. In the second phase several parameters, such as the in uence of nutrients and the addition of surfactant and specialized inocula, were evaluated in microcosms with 2:5 kg soil. The application of this protocol to two hydrocarbon-contaminated soils is described. In the ÿrst phase of the protocol, the results obtained with the ÿrst soil indicated high metabolic activity of indigenous microbial populations and a total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) decrease of 46%. Assays of the second soil indicated low indigenous microbial metabolic activity and limited biodegradation of TPH. In the second phase of the protocol, which lasted 360 days, assay of microcosms showed that the ÿrst soil responded to several treatments with a large decrease in TPH, while none of the treatments applied to the second soil showed a reduction in TPH. The information obtained from the results in the ÿrst phase of the protocol indicates whether a biological treatment of contaminated soil is appropriate. In the second phase of the protocol, we attempted to identify the most appropriate treatment through the evaluation of various conditions and additives.