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Potential Use of Waste-to-Bioenergy By-Products in Bioremediation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)-Contaminated Soils

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Environmental Soil Remediation and Rehabilitation

Abstract

Detoxification of soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons constitutes a worldwide challenge. Bioremediation is an efficient strategy for soil cleanup, but low nutrients level and microbial density in contaminated soils are limiting the process. Reasonable practice of waste management encourages soil application of organic wastes, and thus, reduction of the amount of wastes deposited on landfills. Land application of organic matter is likewise a resource-saving alternative to chemical fertilizers and moreover supports carbon sequestration in soil organic matter (SOM) reducing the emission of greenhouse gasses such as CO2. Addition of mature organic matter to soil represents a sustainable and cost-effective bioremediation strategy. Here, we have reviewed (1) the use of organic matter and mineral nutrients in bioremediation during composting treatments at laboratory and full scale; (2) properties of digestate including biological stability, nutrients, pathogens, and organic contaminants; (3) monitoring approaches in bioremediation of soil amended with digestate including chemical and biological assays as well as the use of molecular markers. Organic matter is an efficient nutrient source during composting of polluted soils. Remediation efficiency of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH)-contaminated soils during composting with organic amendments at laboratory scale was reported to be high with 99% alkanes removal after 60 days. For full-scale biopiles treatment, 38–57% of TPH could be removed after 53 days. Addition of organic matter to soils also improves soil characteristics like pH and structure as well as elevates bacterial density and diversity. Studies on organic matter have indicated that anaerobic digestion and post-treatment of digestate, (e.g., composting), decrease pathogen content. Digestate has also elevated nutrient status and biological stability in comparison with raw feedstock which may be further improved by composting. Organic contaminants present in feedstock are decreasing during anaerobic digestion and composting while trace elements accumulate. As toxicity of soils after bioremediation is not always directly associated with contaminant concentration decrease, in remediation monitoring field, a battery of ecotoxicological tests are applied including ecotoxicological markers and bioassays. This chapter is focused on the valorization of digestate as a nutrient source for bioremediation of TPH-contaminated soils by composting.

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Abbreviations

ACS:

Acyl-CoA Synthetase

acyl-coA:

Acetyl Coenzyme A

AH:

Alkane Hydroxylase

ALD:

Aldehyde Dehydrogenase

AlkB:

Integral-Membrane Non-Heme Di-Iron Monooxygenase

BAA:

N-benzoyl-L-argininamid

BTEX:

Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylenes

BVM:

Baeyer–Villiger monooxygenase

CFU:

Colony Forming Unit

DEHP:

Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate

DHD:

dihydrodiol dehydrogenase

E:

Esterase

EXDO:

Extradiol Dioxygenase

HA:

Hydratase Aldolase

HX:

Hydroxylase

IS:

Isomerase

ISO:

International Organization for Standardization

MAD:

Mesophilic Anaerobic Digestion

MMOs:

Methane Monooxygenases

MPN:

Most Probable Number

NADH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

NDO:

Naphthalenedioxygenase

OECD:

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

pAHs:

Particulate Alkane Hydroxylases

PAHs:

Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons

PCR:

Polymerase Chain Reaction

RHD:

Ring Hydroxylating Dioxygenase

SOM:

Soil Organic Matter

TPH:

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons

US EPA:

United States Environmental Protection Agency

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Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge the financial support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 643071 (“Advanced Biological Waste-to-Energy Technologies—ABWET”).

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Correspondence to Anna Gielnik or Eric D. van Hullebusch .

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Gielnik, A., Pechaud, Y., Huguenot, D., Esposito, G., Guibaud, G., van Hullebusch, E.D. (2020). Potential Use of Waste-to-Bioenergy By-Products in Bioremediation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH)-Contaminated Soils. In: van Hullebusch, E., Huguenot, D., Pechaud, Y., Simonnot, MO., Colombano, S. (eds) Environmental Soil Remediation and Rehabilitation. Applied Environmental Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Future. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40348-5_5

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