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Long-term simulation of in situ biostimulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated soil

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Abstract

A continuous-flow column study was conducted to evaluate the long-term effects of in situ biostimulation on the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil from a manufactured gas plant site. Simulated groundwater amended with oxygen and inorganic nutrients was introduced into one column, while a second column receiving unamended groundwater served as a control. PAH and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations, as well as microbial community profiles, were monitored along the column length immediately before and at selected intervals up to 534 days after biostimulation commenced. Biostimulation resulted in significantly greater PAH removal than in the control condition (73% of total measured PAHs vs. 34%, respectively), with dissolution accounting for a minor amount of the total mass loss (~6%) in both columns. Dissolution was most significant for naphthalene, acenaphthene, and fluorene, accounting for >20% of the total mass removed for each. A known group of PAH-degrading bacteria, ‘Pyrene Group 2’ (PG2), was identified as a dominant member of the microbial community and responded favorably to biostimulation. Spatial and temporal variations in soil PAH concentration and PG2 abundance were strongly correlated to DO advancement, although there appeared to be transport of PG2 organisms ahead of the oxygen front. At an estimated oxygen demand of 6.2 mg O2/g dry soil and a porewater velocity of 0.8 m/day, it took between 374 and 466 days for oxygen breakthrough from the 1-m soil bed in the biostimulated column. This study demonstrated that the presence of oxygen was the limiting factor in PAH removal, as opposed to the abundance and/or activity of PAH-degrading bacteria once oxygen reached a previously anoxic zone.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Randall Goodman and Glenn Walters for their help in the design and construction of the columns. We also thank Dr. Wei Sun and Joe Rigdon of the UNC Department of Biostatistics for assistance with statistical analyses. This work was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Grant No. 5 P42 ES005948).

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  1. Maiysha D. Jones

    Present address: Proctor & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Stephen D. Richardson, Maiysha D. Jones, David R. Singleton & Michael D. Aitken

  2. Solutions-IES, Inc., Raleigh, NC, USA

    Stephen D. Richardson

Authors
  1. Stephen D. Richardson
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  2. Maiysha D. Jones
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Correspondence to Stephen D. Richardson.

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Richardson, S.D., Jones, M.D., Singleton, D.R. et al. Long-term simulation of in situ biostimulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. Biodegradation 23, 621–633 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-012-9538-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-012-9538-9

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