Enhanced biodegradation of pentachlorophenol in unsaturated soil using reversed field electrokinetics

This study investigated the use of electrokinetics in unsaturated soil to promote biodegradation of pentachlorophenol through increased contact between bacteria and contaminant. Soil microcosms, contaminated with approximately 100 mg kg⁻¹ pentachlorophenol (containing [¹⁴C]-PCP as a tracer), and inoculated with a specific pentachlorophenol-degrading bacterium (Sphingobium sp. UG30–1 × 10⁸ cfu g⁻¹) were subjected to constant and regularly reversed electric currents (10 mA). The former caused large pH and moisture content changes due to water electrolysis and electroosmotic effects, with subsequent negative impacts on biodegradation parameters including enzyme activity and contaminant mineralisation (as measured by ¹⁴CO₂ evolution rate). The reversed field caused little change in pH and moisture content and led to more rapid contaminant mineralisation, lower soil contaminant concentration in the majority of the microcosms and increased soil enzyme activity (with the exception of soil immediately adjacent to the anode). The presence of an electric field, if suitably applied, may therefore enhance contaminant biodegradation in unsaturated soil.     

AhR agonist and genotoxicant bioavailability in a PAH-contaminated soil undergoing biological treatment

Background, aim, and scope  Degradation of the 16 US EPA priority PAHs in soil subjected to bioremediation is often achieved. However, the PAH loss is not always followed by a reduction in soil toxicity. For instance, bioanalytical testing of such soil using the chemical-activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX) assay, measuring the combined effect of all Ah receptor (AhR) activating compounds, occasionally indicates that the loss of PAHs does not correlate with the loss of Ah receptor-active compounds in the soil. In addition, standard PAH analysis does not address the issue of total toxicant bioavailability in bioremediated soil. Materials and methods  To address these questions, we have used the CALUX AhR agonist bioassay and the Comet genotoxicity bioassay with RTL-W1 cells to evaluate the toxic potential of different extracts from a PAH-contaminated soil undergoing large-scale bioremediation. The extracts were also chemically analyzed for PAH16 and PCDD/PCDF. Soil sampled on five occasions between day 0 and day 274 of biological treatment was shaken with n-butanol with vortex mixing at room temperature to determine the bioavailable fraction of contaminants. To establish total concentrations, parts of the same samples were extracted using an accelerated solvent extractor (ASE) with toluene at 100°C. The extracts were tested as inducers of AhR-dependent luciferase activity in the CALUX assay and for DNA breakage potential in the Comet bioassay. Results  The chemical analysis of the toluene extracts indicated slow degradation rates and the CALUX assay indicated high levels of AhR agonists in the same extracts. Compared to day 0, the bioavailable fractions showed no decrease in AhR agonist activity during the treatment but rather an up-going trend, which was supported by increasing levels of PAHs and an increased effect in the Comet bioassay after 274 days. The bio-TEQs calculated using the CALUX assay were higher than the TEQs calculated from chemical analysis in both extracts, indicating that there are additional toxic PAHs in both extracts that are not included in the chemically derived TEQ. Discussion  The response in the CALUX and the Comet bioassays as well as the chemical analysis indicate that the soil might be more toxic to organisms living in soil after 274 days of treatment than in the untreated soil, due to the release of previously sorbed PAHs and possibly also metabolic formation of novel toxicants. Conclusions  Our results put focus on the issue of slow degradation rates and bioavailability of PAHs during large-scale bioremediation treatments. The release of sorbed PAHs at the investigated PAH-contaminated site seemed to be faster than the degradation rate, which demonstrates the importance of considering the bioavailable fraction of contaminants during a bioremediation process. Recommendations and perspectives  It has to be ensured that soft remediation methods like biodegradation or the natural remediation approach do not result in the mobilization of toxic compounds including more mobile degradation products. For PAH-contaminated sites this cannot be assured merely by monitoring the 16 target PAHs. The combined use of a battery of biotests for different types of PAH effects such as the CALUX and the Comet assay together with bioavailability extraction methods may be a useful screening tool of bioremediation processes of PAH-contaminated soil and contribute to a more accurate risk assessment. If the bioremediation causes a release of bound PAHs that are left undegraded in an easily extracted fraction, the soil may be more toxic to organisms living in the soil as a result of the treatment. A prolonged treatment time may be one way to reduce the risk of remaining mobile PAHs. In critical cases, the remediation concept might have to be changed to ex situ remediation methods.     

虾池环境生物修复作用菌的分离与筛选

为修复对虾养殖环境,从山东各地虾池底泥中分离出331株细菌,通过测定其对对虾饵料降解能力,筛选到虾池有机污染物降解菌10株,这些菌能以对虾饣料为唯一碳源和氮源生长,对对虾配合饵料和蛤蜊肉具有较强降解能力（72h内CODMn去除率分别在60％和70％以上）,并可在虾池环境条件下良好生长,对养殖动物安全性试验证明,这些菌株对养殖对虾没有致病作用,且其中6株可提高对虾的成活率,这些降解菌具有快速消除虾池底部有机污染、修复对虾养殖环境的潜力。     

微生物处理土壤石油污染的研究进展

利用微生物治理土壤石油污染，是当前应用前景最看好的处理方法，文章对此方面的研究情况作了系统的汇总。现有的研究工作可分为4大类：污染现状评价，影响因素识别，降烃微生物研究，生物促进机制研究。在分别对每类研究中的不同方面进行介绍的基础上，分析了现有研究中存在的不足，并对今后的研究趋势作了预测和展望。     

底泥修复中温度对微生物活性和污染物释放的影响

通过分析底泥中微生物的酶活性以及污染物的释放规律,探讨了温度对河道底泥生物修复的影响.结果表明,底泥中微生物的脱氢酶、脲酶和磷酸酶的活性随着温度的升高而显著增大,但温度对纤维素酶的活性影响较小.4 ℃和10 ℃时底泥中污染物的释放量和微生物的酶活性均较低,水质较稳定;20～37 ℃时底泥中污染物的释放量明显增加,微生物的新陈代谢能力有较大提高,水体的自净能力较强.在各种因素的综合作用下,20～30 ℃是进行底泥生物修复的适宜环境温度.此外,当pH为9.0以及添加葡萄糖时,底泥中微生物均表现出较高的脱氢酶活性.     

Hydrocarbon-utilizing microorganisms naturally associated with sawdust

Sawdust, one of the materials used as sorbent for removing spilled oil from polluted environments was naturally colonized by hydrocarbon-utilizing fungi, 1 × 10⁵-2 × 10⁵ colony forming units (CFU) g⁻¹, depending on the hydrocarbon substrate. This sorbent was initially free of hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria. Incubating wet sawdust at 30 °C resulted in gradually increasing the fungal counts to reach after 6 months between 5 × 10⁶ and 7 × 10⁶ CFU g⁻¹, and the appearance of hydrocarbon-utilizing bacteria in numbers between 8 × 10⁴ and 3 × 10⁵ cells g⁻¹. The fungi belonged to the genera Candida (32% of the total), Penicillium (21%), Aspergillus (15%), Rhizopus (12%), Cladosporium (9%), Mucor (7%) and Fusarium (4%). Based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences the bacteria were affiliated to Actinobacterium sp. (38%), Micrococcus luteus (30%), Rhodococcus erythropolis, (19%) and Rhodococcus opacus (13%). Individual pure fungal and bacterial isolates grew on a wide range of individual pure aliphatic (n-alkanes with chain lengths between C₉ and C₄₀) and aromatic (benzene, biphenyl, anthracene, naphthalene and phenanthrene) hydrocarbons as sole sources of carbon and energy. Quantitative determinations revealed that all fungal and bacterial isolates could consume considerable proportions of crude oil, phenanthrene (an aromatic hydrocarbon) and n-hexadecane (an aliphatic hydrocarbon) in batch cultures. It was concluded that when sawdust is used as a sorbent, the associated microorganisms probably contribute to the bioremediation of oil and hydrocarbon pollutants in the environment.     

Performance of bioaugmentation-assisted phytoextraction applied to metal contaminated soils: a review

Bioaugmentation-assisted phytoextraction is a promising method for the cleaning-up of soils contaminated by metals. Bacteria mainly Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) and fungi mainly Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) associated with hyperaccumulating or non-hyperaccumulating plants were analyzed on the basis of a bioprocess engineering approach (concentration and amount of metals extracted by plants, translocation and bioconcentration factor, and plant biomass). In average bioaugmentation increased metals accumulated by shoots by a factor of about 2 (metal concentration) and 5 (amount) without any obvious differences between bacteria and fungi. To optimize this process, new relevant microorganism-plant associations and field scale experiments are needed along with a common methodology for the comparison of all experiments on the same basis. Recommendations were suggested concerning both the microbial-plant selection and the implementation of bioaugmentation to enhance the microbial survival. The use of microbial consortia associated with plant was discussed notably for multi-contaminated soils.     

Perchlorate: Problems,Detection, and Solutions

The perchlorate anion (ClO 4 m ) is produced when the solid salts of ammonium, potassium, and sodium perchlorate, and perchloric acid dissolve in water. Ammonium perchlorate, used in solid rocket engine fuels, has a limited shelf life and must periodically be replaced. Before 1997, perchlorate could not be readily detected in groundwater at concentrations below 100 µg/L, until the California Department of Health Services developed an acceptable analytical method that lowered the detection limit to 4 µg/L. Subsequently, groundwater containing perchlorate were soon encountered in several western states, and contamination became apparent in Colorado River water. Most perchlorate salts have high water solubilities; concentrated solutions have densities greater than water. Once dissolved, perchlorate is extremely mobile, requiring decades to degrade. Health effects from ingesting low dosage perchlorate-contaminated water are not well known: it interferes with the body's iodine intake, causing an inhibition of human thyroid production. Contaminated surface and groundwater treatment may require bio- and/or phytoremediation technologies. Perchlorate in groundwater is relatively unretarded; it probably travels by advection. Therefore, it may be used as a tracer for hydrocarbon and metal contaminants that are significantly more retarded. Possible forensic techniques include chlorine isotopes for defining multiple or commingled perchlorate plumes.     

生物修复技术在城市水体环境治理中的应用探究

近年来在城市水体环境治理的过程中,已经开始采用物理类型、化学类型与生物类型的修复技术,相比之下,生物类型修复技术的应用工程量较少、成本较低并且具有环境友好性的特点,具有较高的应用优势。因此,在城市水体环境治理的工作中,应该科学采用先进的生物修复技术,将其在城市水体环境治理中的积极作用充分发挥出来,为城市的后续发展夯实基础。     

土壤及场地持久性有机污染的生物修复技术发展及应用

以土壤及场地持久性有机污染物为对象,较为系统地综合评述了国内外污染土壤及场地的生物修复技术发展与应用,并结合当前土壤及场地污染的新特点,提出了生物修复的发展趋势和研究方向.