Abstract
The present research investigated to what extent results obtained in small microcosm experiments can be extrapolated to larger settings with non-uniform concentrations. Microbial hydrocarbon degradation in sandy sediments was compared for column experiments versus homogenized microcosms with varying concentrations of diesel, Syntroleum, and fish biodiesel as contaminants. Syntroleum and fish biodiesel had higher degradation rates than diesel fuel. Microcosms showed significantly higher overall hydrocarbon mineralization percentages (p < 0.006) than columns. Oxygen levels and moisture content were likely not responsible for that difference, which could, however, be explained by a strong gradient of fuel and nutrient concentrations through the column. The mineralization percentage in the columns was similar to small-scale microcosms at high fuel concentrations. While absolute hydrocarbon degradation increased, mineralization percentages decreased with increasing fuel concentration which was corroborated by saturation kinetics; the absolute CO2 production reached a steady plateau value at high substrate concentrations. Numerical modeling using HYDRUS 2D/3D simulated the transport and degradation of the investigated fuels in vadose zone conditions similar to those in laboratory column experiments. The numerical model was used to evaluate the impact of different degradation rate constants from microcosm versus column experiments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander M (1999) Biodegradation and bioremediation, 2nd edn. Academic, San Diego
Andersen O, Weinbach J-E (2010) Residual animal fat and fish for biodiesel production. Potentials in Norway. Biomass Bioenergy 34:1183–1188
Bergin S (2004) Annual report for the ultra-clean Fischer-Tropsch fuels production and demonstration project (accessed 11 Jul 2006). Integrated Concepts and Research Corporation, http://www.fischer-tropsch.org/DOE/DOE_reports/41099/41099-05/41099-05.pdf
Beven K, Germann P (2013) Macropores and water flow in soils revisited. Water Resour Res 49:3071–3092
Colla TS, Andreazza R, Bücker F, de Souza MM, Tramontini L, Prado GR, Frazzon APG, de Oliveira Camargo FA, Bento FM (2014) Bioremediation assessment of diesel–biodiesel-contaminated soil using an alternative bioaugmentation strategy. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21:2592–2602
Cravo-Laureau C, Duran R (2014) Marine costal sediments microbial hydrocarbon degradation processes: contribution of experimental ecology in the omics’era. Frontiers in Microbiology 5:Article 39
Davis C, Cort T, Dai DP, Illangasekare TH, Munakata-Marr J (2003) Effects of heterogeneity and experimental scale on the biodegradation of diesel. Biodegradation 14(6):373–384
Dibble JT, Bartha R (1979) Effect of environmental parameters on the biodegradation of oil sludge. Appl Environ Microbiol 37:729–739
Diplock EE, Mardlin DP, Killham KS, Paton GI (2009) Predicting bioremediation of hydrocarbons: laboratory to field scale. Environ Pollut 157:1831–1840
Dohnal M, Dušek J, Vogel T, Císlerová M, Lichner L, Štekauerová V (2009) Ponded infiltration into soil with biopores – field experiment and modeling. Biologia 64:580–584
Federal Transit Administration (2007) Demonstration of Fischer-Tropsch diesel fuel in cold climates. USDOT http://www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Fischer_Tropsch_Synthetic_Diesel_Demonstration_Project.pdf
Ferguson SH, Franzmann PD, Revill AT, Snape I, Rayner JL (2003) The effects of nitrogen and water on mineralisation of hydrocarbons in diesel-contaminated terrestrial Antarctic. Cold Reg Sci Technol 37(2):197–212
Filler D, Barnes DL, Johnson RA, Snape I (2008) Thermally enhanced bioremediation and integrated systems. In: Filler D, Snape I, Barnes DL (eds) Bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in cold regions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Fomba KW, Galvosas P, Roland U, Kaerger J, Kopinke FD (2011) Mobile aliphatic domains in humic substances and their impact on contaminant mobility within the matrix. Environ Sci Technol 45(12):5164–5169
Horel A (2009) Biodegradation of petroleum and alternative fuel hydrocarbons in moderate and cold climate. PhD Thesis. 262 pages. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK
Horel A, Schiewer S (2009) Investigation of the physical and chemical parameters affecting biodegradation of diesel and synthetic diesel fuel contaminating Alaskan soils. Cold Reg Sci Technol 58(3):113–119
Horel A, Schiewer S (2011) Influence of constant and fluctuating temperature on biodegradation rates of fish biodiesel blends contaminating Alaskan sand. Chemosphere 83(5):652–660
Horel A, Schiewer S (2014) Influence of inocula with prior hydrocarbon exposure on biodegradation rates of diesel, synthetic diesel, and fish-biodiesel in soil. Chemosphere 109:150–156
Ichien S (2010) The energetic implications of fisheries processing waste and potential fishmeal/fishoil by-products. Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon
Kauppi S, Sinkkonen A, Romantschuk M (2011) Enhancing bioremediation of diesel-fuel-contaminated soil in a boreal climate: Comparison of biostimulation and bioaugmentation. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 65:359–368
Khan FI, Husain T, Hejazi R (2004) An overview and analysis of site remediation technologies. J Environ Manag 71:95–122
Korda A, Santas P, Tenente A, Santas R (1997) Petroleum hydrocarbon bioremediation: sampling and analytical techniques, in situ treatments and commercial microorganisms currently used. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 48(6):677–686
Leys NM, Bastiaens L, Verstraete W, Springael D (2004) Influence of the carbon/nitrogen/phosphorus ratio on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation by Mycobacterium and Sphingomonas in soil. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 66:726–736
Lin C, Gan L, Chen Z (2010) Biodegradation of naphtalene by strain Bacillus fusiformis (BFN). J Hazard Mater 182(1–3):771–777
Martinho E, Abreu MM, Pampulha ME, Alegria F, Oliveria A, Almedia F (2010) An experimental study of the diesel biodegradation effects on soil biogeophysical parameters. Water Air Soil Pollut 206:139–154
Monod J (1949) The growth of bacterial cultures. Annu Rev Microbiol 3:371–394
Mortazavi B, Horel A, Anders JS, Mirjafari A, Beazley MJ, Sobecky PA (2013) Enhancing the biodegradation of oil in sandy sediments with choline: a naturally methylated nitrogen compound. Environ Pollut 182:53–62
Muzzell P, Freerks R, Baltrus J, Link D (2004) Composition of Syntroleum S-5 and conformance to JP-5 specification. Prepr Am Chem Soc Div Petrol Chem 49:411–413
Rivetta MO, Wealthallb GP, Deardenb RA, McAlary TA (2011) Review of unsaturated-zone transport and attenuation of volatile organic compound (VOC) plumes leached from shallow source zones. J Contam Hydrol 123:130–156
Schiewer S, Niemeyer T (2006) Soil heating and optimized nutrient addition for accelerating bioremediation in cold climates. Polar Record 42(220):23–31
Simunek J, He C, Pang L, Bradford SA (2006) Colloid-facilitated solute transport in variably saturated porous media: numerical model and experimental verification. Vadose Zone J 5:1035–1047
Simunek J, Sejna M, van Genuchten MT (2007) The HYDRUS software package for simulating the two- and three-dimensional movement of water, heat, and multiple solutes in variably-saturated media. Prague, Czech Republic, PC-Progress
Singh H (2006) Fungal metabolism of petroleum hydrocarbons. In: Mycoremediation, Fungal bioremediation. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 115–148
Steigers JA, Seshadri G, Crimp PM (2004) Demonstrating the use of Alaska fish oil as a feedstock for the commercial production of biodiesel. Paper presented at the World Renewable Energy Congress VIII
Torres LG, Orantes JL, Iturbe R (2006) Critical micellar concentrations for three surfactants and their diesel-removal efficiencies in petroleum-contaminated soils. Environ Geosci 10:28–36
van Genuchten MT (1980) A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44(5):892–898
Walworth J, Ferguson S (2008) Nutrient requirements for bioremediation. In: Filler D, Snape I, Barnes DL (eds) Bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in cold regions. Cambridge University Press
Walworth JL, Woolard CR, Harris KC (2003) Nutrient amendments for contaminated peri-glacial soils: use of cod bone meal as a controlled release nutrient source. Cold Reg Sci Technol 37(2):81–88
Widrig DL, Manning JF (1995) Biodegradation of No. 2 diesel fuel in the vadose zone: a soil column study. Environ Toxicol Chem 14:1813–1822
Witmer D, Schmid J (2008) Fish oil based biodiesel testing. vol Final report to Alaska Energy Authority. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Northern Engineering, Fairbanks, AK
Zhou O, Shen B (2010) Biodegradation potential and influencing factors of a special microorganism to treat petrochemical wastewater. Pet Sci Technol 28(2):135–145
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Institute for Water Resources program of the United States Geological Survey. Agota Horel is grateful for additional funding through an Inland Northwest Research Alliance fellowship and a University of Alaska Fairbanks thesis completion fellowship. The authors also thank Jack Schmid for providing the alternative fuel types and Ken Irving for technical assistance. None of the above contributed to study design, execution of experiments, interpretation of results, or preparation of the publication.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
ESM 1
(DOC 104 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Horel, A., Schiewer, S. & Misra, D. Effect of concentration gradients on biodegradation in bench-scale sand columns with HYDRUS modeling of hydrocarbon transport and degradation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 13251–13262 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4576-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4576-6