The Reduction of Stranded Oil by In Situ Shoreline Treatment Options

The Svalbard Shoreline Field Trials quantified the effectiveness of sediment relocation, mixing, bioremediation, bioremediation combined with mixing, and natural attenuation as options for the in situ treatment of oiled mixed-sediment (sand and pebble) shorelines. These treatments were applied to oiled plots located in the upper beach at three experimental sites, each with different sediment character and wave-energy exposure. Systematic monitoring was carried out over a 400-day period to quantify oil removal and to document changes in the physical character of the beach, oil penetration, oil loading, movements of oil to the subtidal environment, biodegradation, toxicity, and to validate oil-mineral aggregate formation.The results of the monitoring confirmed that sediment relocation significantly accelerated the rate of oil removal and reduced oil persistence where oil was stranded on the beach face above the level of normal wave activity. Where the stranded oil was in the zone of wave action, sediment relocation accelerated the short-term (weeks) rate of oil loss from the intertidal sediments.Oil removal rates on a beach treated by mechanical mixing or tilling were not significantly higher than those associated with natural recovery. However there is evidence that mixing/tilling may have enhanced microbial activity for a limited period by increasing the permeability of the sediment.Changes in the chemical composition of the oil demonstrated that biodegradation was significant in this arctic environment and a bioremediation treatment protocol based on nutrient enrichment effectively doubled the rate of biodegradation. However, on an operational scale, the success of this treatment strategy was limited as physical processes were more important in causing oil loss from the beaches than biodegradation, even where this oil loss was stimulated by the bioremediation protocols.     

Assessment of phenol-degrading ability of Acinetobacter sp. B9 for its application in bioremediation of phenol-contaminated industrial effluents

Successful bioremediation of a phenol-contaminated environment requires application of those microbial strains that have acquired phenol tolerance and phenol-degrading abilities. A newly isolated strain B9 of Acinetobacter sp. was adapted to a high phenol concentration by growing sequentially from low- to high-strength phenol. The acclimatised strain was able to grow and completely degrade up to 14?mM of phenol in 136?h. The degradation rates were found to increase with an increase in the phenol concentration from 2.0 to 7.5?mM. The strain preferred neutral to alkaline pH range for growth and phenol degradation, with the optimum being pH 8.0. The optimum temperature for phenol degradation was found to be in the range of 30–35°C. Transmission electron micrographs showed a disorganised and convoluted cell membrane in the case of phenol-stressed cells, showing a major effect of phenol on the membrane. Enzymatic and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry studies show the presence of an ortho-cleavage pathway for phenol degradation. Efficient phenol degradation was observed even in the presence of pyridine and heavy metals as co-toxicants showing the potential of strain in bioremediation of industrial wastes. Application of strain B9 to real tannery wastewater showed 100% removal of initial 0.5?mM phenol within 48?h of treatment.     

Biological treatment of the dye Reactive Blue 19 by cattails and anaerobic bacterial consortia

This study demonstrates the bioremediation potential of anaerobic sludge and cattail (Typha angustifolia) for the treatment of the dye Reactive Blue 19 (RB19). The anaerobic sludge and cattails used in this study were not previously exposed to dyes or other xenobiotics. Different anaerobic sludge concentrations (30%, 50%, and 70%) were used along fixed dye concentrations at pH 8.0 and 25 °C. Subsequently, 50% sludge was selected to treat RB19 at various concentrations. The discoloration of non-hydrolyzed dye was between 70% and 85% using 50% biomass. For the hydrolyzed form of RB19, the range of decoloration was 70%–90%. Dye treatment efficiencies between 50% and 75% were observed for the two forms of the dye when treated with T. angustifolia. Overall, the anaerobic biomass at pH 8.0 showed better potential than cattails to treat RB19. The observation that non-enriched anaerobic sludge can decolorize RB19 is important because it opens up the prospects of developing anaerobic treatment systems, which can easily decolorize dyes in industrial wastewaters and also possesses potential advantages over systems using defined bacterial cultures.     

Dissipation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and microbial activity in a field soil planted with perennial ryegrass

Dissipation and plant uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in contaminated agricultural soil planted with perennial ryegrass were investigated in a field experiment. After two seasons of grass cultivation the mean concentration of 12 PAHs in soil decreased by 23.4% compared with the initial soil. The 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-ring PAHs were dissipated by 30.9%, 25.5%, 21.2%, and 16.3% from the soil, respectively. Ryegrass shoots accumulated about 280 μg·kg^-1, shoot dry matter biomass reached 2.48 × 10⁴ kg·ha^-1, and plant uptake accounted for about 0.99% of the decrease in PAHs in the soil. Significantly higher soil enzyme activities and microbial community functional diversity were observed in planted soil than that in the unplanted control. The results suggest that planting ryegrass may promote the dissipation of PAHs in long-term contaminated agricultural soil, and plant-promoted microbial degradation may be a main mechanism of phytoremediation.     

改善湖泊水环境的调水与生物修复结合途径探索

分析了生物修复和引清调水措施在改善湖泊水环境的优点和不足,指出单独采用其中一种方法,在解决湖泊污染问题上都存在一定的局限性,而将二者结合起来既能充分发挥各自的优点,又能加快湖泊生态恢复的步伐.在此基础上,对二者结合途径进行探索.以汉阳四湖为例,引清调水与生物修复可以通过3种主要途径结合: 短期引清调水与长期生物修复相结合,局部生物修复与大区域调水置换结合,水力调度调控与湖泊生物恢复结合.     

酵母菌-细菌联合修复石油污染土壤研究

采用室内模拟方法研究热带假丝酵母菌(Candida tropicalis)和粪链球菌(Streptococcus faecalis)对石油污染土壤的联合修复,并监测修复过程中土壤脱氢酶活性、石油污染组分的变化. 结果表明:酵母菌-细菌混合菌剂在对石油烃的去除中表现出协同作用,连续培养32 d后混合菌处理组对总石油烃(TPH)的去除率达到29.9%,较单菌处理组高约50%;混合菌处理组脱氢酶活性高于单菌,并与石油烃去除率呈很好的相关性;前期低分子量烷烃降解效果明显,对于C15～C21的高分子量烷烃的降解效果主要在第32天时显现.      

植物与微生物对石油污染土壤修复的影响

为了研究生物对石油污染土壤的修复效果,在从石油污染土壤中筛选石油降解微生物的基础上,采用盆栽试验,进一步研究了4种植物和筛选到的微生物对石油污染土壤修复的影响.选择中原油田地区的原油和潮土,采取人工污染方法,设计石油污染水平为15 g·kg-1.试验设置3类处理,即单独添加微生物、单独种植植物(分别为向日葵、狗牙根、棉花、高丹草)、微生物分别与4种植物(向日葵、狗牙根、棉花、高丹草)组合.结果表明:在石油污染土壤中单独添加石油降解微生物,120 d时,石油降解率达到67.0%;向日葵、狗牙根、棉花、高丹草对土壤中石油降解也具有一定效果,120 d时,石油降解率分别达到38.23%、36.57%、40.67%、38.67%;添加微生物和种植植物联合对石油降解能力大小顺序为棉花+微生物＞向日葵+微生物＞狗牙根+微生物＞高丹草+微生物.其中,棉花与微生物联合修复120 d可以使污染土壤石油降解率达到85.67%,在各种处理中对污染土壤中石油的降解效果最好.     

Developed fungal–bacterial biofilms as a novel tool for bioremoval of hexavelant chromium from wastewater

Remediation measures for hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] are required for a safe environment. As a recent development in microbiology, bacterial biofilms are being studied as effective bioremediation agents. When bacteria are in fungal surface-attached biofilm mode, they are called fungal–bacterial biofilms (FBBs). They have not been tested for bioremediation so far. Hence, this study was conducted to develop FBBs and glass-wool-attached bacterial biofilms (BBs), and to evaluate Cr(VI) tolerability and removal of bacterial monocultures, BBs and FBBs. FBBs showed a significantly high level of Cr(VI) tolerance and resistance compared with its BBs or monocultures. After 10 days, up to 90% of Cr(VI) had been removed, which was significantly higher than that of BBs or its monocultures. Thus, it is clear that FBBs can be used as a novel tool to decontaminate Cr(VI) both in situ and ex situ.     

Strengthening effects of ammonia nitrogen on the harmless biological treatment of oily sludge

To improve the efficiency of oil degradation and strengthen the harmless treatment of oily sludge, three dominant strains identified as Chryseomicrobium sp. YL2, Gordonia sp. YL3 and Acinetobacter sp. YL5 were isolated from soil near a refinery, and the effects on the bioremediation of the oily sludge from the refinery were investigated. The results showed that the efficiency of oil degradation increased by 31.5% compared with the control when the dominant strains were added to the treatment of oily sludge. Furthermore, the dominant strains could use oil as a carbon source for heterotrophic nitrification–aerobic denitrification. The addition of ammonia nitrogen resulted in a large number of remaining microbes and heightened dehydrogenase activity in the oily sludge, further accelerating oil degradation, mainly for C₁₁ to C₂₅ saturated hydrocarbons, and the oil degradation efficiency increased by 40.8%. After 120 days of bioremediation, the biotoxicity of oily sludge, which was expressed by the equivalent phenol concentration, decreased by 40.0% compared with that of the control, indicating that the addition of ammonia nitrogen enhanced the biodegradation of oil. This method can be used to strengthen the harmless treatment of oily sludge in practical engineering applications.     

土壤修复与改良的微生物技术

综述了国内外近几年来关于土壤污染与损伤的微生物修复技术,包括土壤污染的微生物修复技术和土壤改良的微生物技术,总结了各项技术的工作重点、类型和思路.