Dynamics of carbon and nitrogen in a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons contaminated soil amended with organic residues.

Contamination of soil with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through oil spills occurs frequently in Mexico. PAHs are highly resistant to degradation and restoration of these contaminated soils might be achieved by applying readily available organic material. A clayey soil was contaminated in the laboratory with different forms of PAHs, i.e. phenanthrene, anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene, and amended with maize or biosolids while production of carbon dioxide (CO2), dynamics of ammonia (NH4-), nitrate (NO3-) and PAHs were monitored. The largest CO2 production rate was found in soil added with maize and biosolids and the lowest in the unamended soil. The concentration of PAHs added to the sterilized soil did not change significantly over time and addition of organic material had no significant effect on it. The concentration of PAHs in unsterilized soil decreased sharply in the first weeks independent of addition of organic material and changes were small thereafter. After 100 days, 77% of benzo(a)pyrene was removed from soil, but 91% and 93% of phenanthrene and anthracene, respectively was removed. It was concluded that the autochthonous microbial population degraded phenanthrene, anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene, but neither biosolids nor maize accelerated the decomposition of PAHs or affected their residual concentration.