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Inoculating Bacteria into Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Oil Sands Soil by Means of Electrokinetics

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Abstract

Electrokinetics (EK) is commonly used in bioremediation studies to aid mobilization of amendments in low permeable soils. This study evaluated the possibility of using EK as a delivery mechanism to emplace organic contaminant degrading bacteria, Sphingomonas paucimobilis EPA505 and Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1, into low permeability soils without disturbing the soils. Bacterial cultures were grown to exponential phase with a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) carbon source, and then transferred to EK reservoirs. Direct current was applied to induce EK movement, and soil DNA evaluated for the inoculated bacteria. Electroosmotic transport efficacy for a silty and an oil sands soil was compared. Results show that EK can be used to inoculate S. paucimobilis EPA505 into soils under electroosmotic flow, but the hydrophobic nature of soils especially enabled electroosmosis. For the first time, we demonstrate that in situ inoculation of non-native bacterial species using EK is possible. The results of this study demonstrate the potential for future applications of this technique for in situ bioaugmentation and remediation of PAH-contaminated soils.

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Abbreviations

DGGE:

Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis

EK:

Electrokinetics

ISCO:

In situ chemical oxidation

OD:

Optical density

PAHs:

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

PCA:

Principle component analysis

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

SEM-EDS:

Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy scanning electron microscopy

TAE:

Tris base, acetic acid, and EDTA

TGA:

Thermal gravimetric analysis

TNM:

Total number of culturable microorganisms

UPGMA:

Unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages

XRD:

X-ray powder diffraction

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) Program for providing the funding for this research. We would also like to thank the following people for their technical expertise or contribution through laboratory resources: Radmila Kovac, Dr. Shuhuan Li, Dr. Josh Neufeld, and Dr. Brendan McConkey from the University of Waterloo; Dr. Ondřej Uhlík from the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague; and Caitlin Marshall and Dr. Nael Yasri from the University of Western Ontario.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecohydrology Research Group, Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Elaine L. Secord, Anastasia Kottara, Philippe Van Cappellen & Ana T. Lima

  2. Present address: University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK

    Anastasia Kottara

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  1. Elaine L. Secord
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  2. Anastasia Kottara
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  3. Philippe Van Cappellen
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  4. Ana T. Lima
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Correspondence to Ana T. Lima.

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Secord, E.L., Kottara, A., Van Cappellen, P. et al. Inoculating Bacteria into Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Oil Sands Soil by Means of Electrokinetics. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 288 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2991-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2991-z

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