Biological Remediation of Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils Using Acinetobacter Sp

Abstract

Soils contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pose a hazard to life. The remediation of such sites has been attempted using various methods such as solvent washing, air stripping, incineration, composting, electrokinetic remediation, and supercritical extraction. However, applicability of these physical, chemical, and biological treatment methods or their combination is critically dependent on soil characteristics, nature and level of contamination, site specifications, and economic feasibility, to name a few. Present research is aimed at studying the applicability of biological treatment for decontamination of industrial soil containing PAHs. The current preliminary study included soil analysis, contaminant characterization, and soil treatment using Acinetobacter sp. The soil treatment over a 5-week period, with minimal supplemental nutrient addition, showed removal efficiencies of 80% and more. The effect of initial microbial population in soil on the removal efficiency over a 5-week treatment period was studied. Experiments were designed to compare the removal efficiencies occurring in packed beds versus continuously-stirred tank reactor (CSTR)-type fermentation conditions. This also estimated a conservative range of decontamination efficiencies achievable using minimal control.

Department(s)

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Acinetobacter Sp; Bioremediation; Extraction Chromatography; High Performance Liquid Chromatography; Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 1996 Taylor & Francis, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1996

Link to Full Text

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