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Removal of Decachlorobiphenyl in Vermicomposting Process Amended with Rabbit Manure and Peat Moss

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Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the removal of polychlorinated biphenyls, with a vermicomposting system, using the following as components: the earthworm Eisenia fetida, peat moss and rabbit excrement and a compound called decachlorobiphenyl, for a period of 91 days under non-sterile conditions. The results obtained were a removal of decachlorobiphenyl 79.6 % with an initial concentration of 100 mg L−1, 89.7 % with 150 mg L−1 and 95.38 % with 200 mg L−1; the earthworms bioaccumulated less than 5 mg L−1 in all concentrations of decachlorobiphenyl analysed without apparent toxic effect. Weight gain was observed in earthworms that assimilated contaminant during vermicomposting, as the number of cocoons produced in contrast to the control in which both the weight and the number of cocoons were lower. To our knowledge, this is the first study which suggests that vermicomposting may be a suitable mechanism for removal of decachlorobiphenyl with high recalcitrance from contaminated sediment or soils.

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Acknowledgments

This research was done at the laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Biotechnology Institute of Technology Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas. We thank MSc María Celina Luján Hidalgo for her technical assistance. J.J. V.M. received grant-aided support from Dirección General de Educación Superior Tecnológica.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biotechnology, Instituto Tecnológico de Tuxtla-Gutiérrez, Tuxtla-Gutiérrez, Chiapas, Mexico

    Juan J. Villalobos-Maldonado, Rocío Meza-Gordillo, Teresa R. Ayora-Talavera, Paola T. Vázquez-Villegas, Federico A. Gutiérrez-Miceli & Víctor M. Ruíz-Valdiviezo

  2. Laboratory of Instrumental Analysis, Instituto Tecnológico de Tlajomulco, 45640, Tlajomulco de Zuniga, Jalisco, Mexico

    Norma A. Mancilla-Margalli, Martha A. Rodríguez-Mendiola & Carlos Arias-Castro

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  1. Juan J. Villalobos-Maldonado
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  2. Rocío Meza-Gordillo
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  3. Norma A. Mancilla-Margalli
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  4. Teresa R. Ayora-Talavera
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Correspondence to Víctor M. Ruíz-Valdiviezo.

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Villalobos-Maldonado, J.J., Meza-Gordillo, R., Mancilla-Margalli, N.A. et al. Removal of Decachlorobiphenyl in Vermicomposting Process Amended with Rabbit Manure and Peat Moss. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 159 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2400-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2400-z

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