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Chemical and microbial community analysis during aerobic biostimulation assays of non-sulfonated alkyl-benzene-contaminated groundwater

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Abstract

A chemical and microbial characterization of lab-scale biostimulation assays with groundwater samples taken from an industrial site in which the aquifer had been contaminated by linear non-sulfonate alkyl benzenes (LABs) was carried out for further field-scale bioremediation purposes. Two lab-scale biodegradability assays were performed, one with a previously obtained gas-oil-degrading consortium and another with the native groundwater flora. Results for the characterization of the groundwater microbial population of the site revealed the presence of an important LAB-degrading microbial population with a strong degrading capacity. Among the microorganisms identified at the site, the detection of Parvibaculum lavamentivorans, which have been described in other studies as alkyl benzene sulfonates degraders, is worth mentioning. Incubation of P. lavamentivorans DSMZ13023 with LABs as reported in this study shows for the first time the metabolic capacity of this strain to degrade such compounds. Results from the biodegradation assays in this study showed that the indigenous microbial population had a higher degrading capacity than the gas-oil-degrading consortium, indicating the strong ability of the native community to adapt to the presence of LABs. The addition of inorganic nutrients significantly improved the aerobic biodegradation rate, achieving levels of biodegradation close to 90%. The results of this study show the potential effectiveness of oxygen and nutrients as in situ biostimulation agents as well as the existence of a complex microbial community that encompasses well-known hydrocarbon- and LAS-degrading microbial populations in the aquifer studied.

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Acknowledgement

This research was funded by a grant from the National Plan for Research of the Spanish Government. E.M. was a recipient of a doctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Education. The work was financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Environment (094/PC08/3-01.1). The authors would like to thank Miriam Guivernau (GIRO Technological Center, Barcelona, Spain) for her assistance in PCR–DGGE profiling and ribotype sequencing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Eulàlia Martínez-Pascual, Nuria Jiménez & A. M. Solanas

  2. D’ENGINY Biorem S.L., Madrazo 68, 08006, Barcelona, Spain

    Georgina Vidal-Gavilan

  3. GIRO Technological Center, Rambla Pompeu Fabra, 1, 08100, Mollet del Vallès, Spain

    Marc Viñas

Authors
  1. Eulàlia Martínez-Pascual
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  2. Nuria Jiménez
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  3. Georgina Vidal-Gavilan
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  4. Marc Viñas
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  5. A. M. Solanas
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Correspondence to A. M. Solanas.

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Martínez-Pascual, E., Jiménez, N., Vidal-Gavilan, G. et al. Chemical and microbial community analysis during aerobic biostimulation assays of non-sulfonated alkyl-benzene-contaminated groundwater. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 88, 985–995 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-2816-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-2816-8

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