Environmental Science and Pollution Research

, Volume 21, Issue 13, pp 8133–8145 | Cite as

Correlations between PAH bioavailability, degrading bacteria, and soil characteristics during PAH biodegradation in five diffusely contaminated dissimilar soils

  • M. Crampon
  • F. Bureau
  • M. Akpa-Vinceslas
  • J. Bodilis
  • N. Machour
  • F. Le Derf
  • F. Portet-Koltalo
Research Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

The natural biodegradation of seven polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by native microorganisms was studied in five soils from Normandy (France) from diffusely polluted areas, which can also pose a problem in terms of surfaces and amounts of contaminated soils. Bioavailability tests using cyclodextrin-based extractions were performed. The natural degradation of low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs was not strongly correlated to their bioavailability due to their sorption to geosorbents. Conversely, the very low degradation of high molecular weight (HMW) PAHs was partly correlated to their poor availability, due to their sorption on complexes of organic matter and kaolinites or smectites. A principal component analysis allowed us to distinguish between the respective degradation behaviors of LMW and HMW PAHs. LMW PAHs were degraded in less than 2–3 months and were strongly influenced by the relative percentage of phenanthrene-degrading bacteria over total bacteria in soils. HMW PAHs were not significantly degraded, not only because they were less bioavailable but also because of a lack of degrading microorganisms. Benzo[a]pyrene stood apart since it was partly degraded in acidic soils, probably because of a catabolic cooperation between bacteria and fungi.

Keywords

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Contaminated soils Biodegradation kinetics Bioavailability Organic matter Clays 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the “Région Haute Normandie” for financial support through Normandy SCALE research network (RESSOLV program).

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  • M. Crampon
    • 1
    • 3
  • F. Bureau
    • 2
  • M. Akpa-Vinceslas
    • 2
  • J. Bodilis
    • 3
  • N. Machour
    • 1
  • F. Le Derf
    • 1
  • F. Portet-Koltalo
    • 1
  1. 1.COBRA UMR CNRS 6014Université de RouenEvreuxFrance
  2. 2.ECODIV-EA 1293, Fédération de Recherche SCALE-FED 4116Université de RouenMont Saint Aignan CedexFrance
  3. 3.Laboratoire de Microbiologie Signaux et MicroenvironnementUniversité de RouenMont Saint AignanFrance

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