Microbial biomass yield and turnover in soil biodegradation tests: carbon substrate effects

Most of the standardized biodegradation tests used to assess the ultimate biodegradation of environmentally degradable polymers are based solely on the determination of net evolved carbon dioxide. However, under aerobic conditions, it has to be considered that heterotrophic microbial consortia metabolize carbon substrates both to carbon dioxide and in the production of new cell biomass. It is generally accepted that in the relatively short term, 50% of the carbon content of most organic substrates is converted to CO₂, with the remaining carbon being assimilated as biomass or incorporated into humus. The latter is particularly important when the metabolism of the organic matter occurs in a soil environment. A straightforward relationship between the free-energy content of a carbon substrate (expressed as the standard free-energy of combustion) and its propensity for conversion to new microbial biomass rather than mineralization to CO₂ has been established. This can potentially lead to underestimation of biodegradation levels of test compounds, especially when they consist of carbon in a fairly low formal oxidation state and relatively high free-energy content. In the present work, the metabolism of different kind of carbon substrates, especially in soil, is reviewed and compared with our own experimental results from respirometric tests. The results show that conversion of highly oxidized materials, such as the commonly used reference materials, cellulose or starch, to CO₂ may be significantly overestimated. The addition of glucosidic material to soil leads to greatly increased respiration and is accompanied by a very low conversion to biomass or humic substances. In contrast, relatively less oxidized substrates metabolize more slowly to give both CO₂ and biomass to an extent which may be significantly underestimated if glucosidic materials are used as the reference. The need for an overall carbon balance taking into account both the carbon immobilized as biomass and that volatized as CO₂ must be considered in standard respirometric procedures for assessing the biodegradability of slowly degrading macromolecules.     

Study of metabolites from the degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments

The PAH metabolites produced during degradation of fluorene, phenanthrene and pyrene by a bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments were analyzed using the on-fiber silylation solid-phase microextraction (SPME) combining with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method. Seventeen metabolites at trace levels were identified in different PAH degradation cultures based on the full scan mass spectra. In fluorene degradation cultures, 1-, 2-, 3- and 9-hydroxyfluorene, fluorenone, and phthalic acid were detected. In phenanthrene and pyrene degradation cultures, various common metabolites such as phenanthrene and pyrene dihydrodiols, mono-hydroxy phenanthrene, dihydroxy pyrene, lactone and 4-hydroxyphenanthrene, methyl ester, and phthalic acid were found. The detection of various common and novel metabolites demonstrates that SPME combining with GC–MS is a quick and convenient method for identification as well as monitoring the real time changes of metabolite concentrations throughout the degradation processes. The knowledge of PAH metabolic pathways and kinetics within indigenous bacterial consortium enriched from mangrove sediments contributes to enhance the bioremediation efficiency of PAH in real environment.     

Combined application of conservative transport modelling and compound-specific carbon isotope analyses to assess in situ attenuation of benzene, toluene, and o-xylene

In recent years, compound specific isotope analyses (CSIA) have developed into one of the most powerful tools for the quantification of in situ biodegradation of organic contaminants. In this approach, the calculation of the extent of biodegradation of organic contaminants in aquifers is usually based on the Rayleigh equation, and thus neglects physical transport processes such as dispersion that contribute to contaminant dilution in aquifers. Here we combine compound specific isotope analyses with a conservative transport model to study the attenuation of aromatic hydrocarbons at a former gasworks site. The conservative transport model was first used to simulate concentration reductions caused by dilution at wells downgradient of a BTEX source. In a second step, the diluted concentrations, together with the available stable carbon isotope ratios and carbon fractionation factors for benzene, toluene and o-xylene were applied in the Rayleigh equation to quantify the degree of biodegradation at each of those wells. At the investigated site, where other attenuation processes such as sorption and volatilisation were proven to be negligible, the combined approach is recommended for benzene, which represents a compound for which the effect of biodegradation is comparable to or less than the effect of dilution. As demonstrated for toluene and o-xylene, the application of the Rayleigh equation alone is sufficient if dilution can be proved to be insignificant in comparison to biodegradation. The analysis also suggests that the source width and the position of the observation wells relative to the plume center line are significantly related to the degree of dilution.     

高浓度氨氮废水的短程硝化研究

采用普通好氧活性污泥驯化培养启动亚硝化反应器，探索了在实验室条件下，亚硝化反应的最适宜条件。结果表明．在温度（T）为35℃，pH值为7．5左右，初始污泥浓度0．7g／L时，控制较高的初始进水氨氨浓度和较低的DO浓度，有利于亚硝化反应的启动：驯化后，反应器内氨氮处理效果良好，即使进水氨氮浓度高达2400mg／L时，氨氮去除率也能达到95％以上;在实验中，亚硝化的最适宜条件为，温度：29～35℃．pH值：7．0～8．0。同时．实验结果表明，在一定范围内，溶解氧浓度越高，亚硝化反应速率越快：C／N比过高会严重抑制亚硝化反应。     

复合光合细菌法处理化工高浓度有机废水研究

通过复合光合菌群对有机废水的降解试验，结果表明，复合菌群具有比单一光合细菌或普通活性污泥好的处理效果，降解效果高出１８％－３９％，在复合菌群中，光合细菌的优势度明显。     

生物难降解有机污染物微生物处理技术的进展

耗氧有机污染物的微生物处理技术已日趋完善，研究重点转向生物难解污染物处理，文章详细阐述了几种生物难降解污染物微生物处理技术的研究进展：（１）几种污染物的高效降解微生物的分离培养以及这些高效降解微生物的降解效率和最佳降解条件研究。（２）利用微生物共代谢作用降解污染物的研究，为一些难以作为微生物唯一碳源和能源的污染物生物降解提供一条有效的途径；（３）利用基因工程技术创建高效降解菌的研究，该项技术在提高     

有机化合物的生物降解性能和生物毒性

有机化合物在环境中的出现是当今世界的重大挑战之一,80年代以来,对于有机化合物在生化处理系统中的归宿和对生物的影响已引起普遍的关注。迄今为止,有关这个课题的研究和资料仍然很少。文章对有机化合物的生物降解性能和生物毒性作一综述,以供同行参考。     

微生物降解洗涤剂直链烷基苯磺酸钠

从微生物生态学和生理学等多角度地介绍了微生物群落对LAS这种非生物源物质的生态适应,以及筛选蒲株降解LAS的能力;研究表明,大多数细菌的降解能力,取决于降解性质粒的存在。筛选菌株以LAS为唯一碳源生长,可高效地去除污水中的LAS。用海藻酸钠固定化的筛选菌株PLesiomonas sp.90-1,还可高效降解100ppm的LAS废水,去除率在90％以上,实现了高浓度LAS废水的好氧处理。     

氟苯胺好氧生物降解性能的研究

利用驯化污泥研究了邻氟苯胺、对氟苯胺、2,4-二氟苯胺的好氧生物降解性能.结果表明,3种氟苯胺的好氧生物降解性能从高到低依次为对氟苯胺、邻氟苯胺和2,4-二氟苯胺.降解动力学分析表明,除2,4-二氟苯胺在实验质量浓度8.56 mg/L时为一级反应,其他为零级反应;且它们的降解规律都符合Monod方程;30 ℃、振荡速率140 r/min为氟苯胺的最佳降解条件.同时研究了共基质条件下葡萄糖和苯胺对2,4-二氟苯胺的好氧降解的影响,葡萄糖的引入有促进作用,而苯胺只在一定浓度范围内有促进作用.氟苯胺的生产废水与生活污水合并处理以及多种组分混合废水处理是可行的.     

A PCE groundwater plume discharging to a river: influence of the streambed and near-river zone on contaminant distributions

An investigation of a tetrachloroethene (PCE) groundwater plume originating at a dry cleaning facility on a sand aquifer and discharging to a river showed that the near-river zone strongly modified the distribution, concentration, and composition of the plume prior to discharging into the surface water. The plume, streambed concentration, and hydrogeology were extensively characterized using the Waterloo profiler, mini-profiler, conventional and driveable multilevel samplers (MLS), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys, streambed temperature mapping (to identify discharge zones), drivepoint piezometers, and soil coring and testing. The plume observed in the shallow streambed deposits was significantly different from what would have been predicted based on the characteristics of the upgradient plume. Spatial and temporal variations in the plume entering the near-river zone contributed to the complex contaminant distribution observed in the streambed where concentrations varied by factors of 100 to 5000 over lateral distances of less than 1 to 3.5 m. Low hydraulic conductivity semi-confining deposits and geological heterogeneities at depth below the streambed controlled the pattern of groundwater discharge through the streambed and influenced where the plume discharged into the river (even causing the plume to spread out over the full width of the streambed at some locations). The most important effect of the near-river zone on the plume was the extensive anaerobic biodegradation that occurred in the top 2.5 m of the streambed, even though essentially no biodegradation of the PCE plume was observed in the upgradient aquifer. Approximately 54% of the area of the plume in the streambed consisted solely of PCE transformation products, primarily cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). High concentrations in the interstitial water of the streambed did not correspond to high groundwater-discharge zones, but instead occurred in low discharge zones and are likely sorbed or retarded remnants of past high-concentration plume discharges. The high-concentration areas (up to 5529 microg/l of total volatile organics) in the streambed are of ecological concern and represent potential adverse exposure locations for benthic and hyporheic zone aquatic life, but the effect of these exposures on the overall health of the river has yet to be determined. Even if the upgradient source of PCE is remediated and additional PCE is prevented from reaching the streambed, the high-concentration deposits in the streambed will likely take decades to hundreds of years to flush completely clean under natural conditions because these areas have low vertical groundwater flow velocities and high retardation factors. Despite high concentrations of contaminants in the streambed, PCE was detected in the surface water only rarely due to rapid dilution in the river and no cDCE or VC was detected. Neither the sampling of surface water nor the sampling of the groundwater from the aquifer immediately adjacent to the river gave an accurate indication of the high concentrations of PCE biodegradation products present in the streambed. Sampling of the interstitial water of the shallow streambed deposits is necessary to accurately characterize the nature of plumes discharging to rivers.