Curiel-Alegre Sandra, Khan Aqib Hassan Ali, Rad Carlos, Velasco-Arroyo Blanca, Rumbo Carlos, Rivilla Rafael, Durán David, Redondo-Nieto Miguel, Borràs Eduard, Molognoni Daniele, Martín-Castellote Soledad, Juez Blanca, Barros Rocío
International Research Center in Critical Raw Materials for Advanced Industrial Technologies (ICCRAM), University of Burgos, Centro de I+D+I. Plaza Misael Bañuelos S/N. 09001, Burgos, Spain.
Research Group in Composting (UBUCOMP), Faculty of Sciences, University of Burgos, Plaza Misael Bañuelos S/N. 09001, Burgos, Spain.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Mar 22. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-32916-8.
The biodegradation of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in soil is very challenging due to the complex recalcitrant nature of hydrocarbon, hydrophobicity, indigenous microbial adaptation and competition, and harsh environmental conditions. This work further confirmed that limited natural attenuation of petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) (15% removal) necessitates efficient bioremediation strategies. Hence, a scaling-up experiment for testing and optimizing the use of biopiles for bioremediation of TPH polluted soils was conducted with three 500-kg pilots of polluted soil, and respective treatments were implemented: including control soil (CT), bioaugmentation and vermicompost treatment (BAVC), and a combined application of BAVC along with bioelectrochemical snorkels (BESBAVC), all maintained at 40% field capacity. This study identified that at pilot scale level, a successful application of BAVC treatment can achieve 90.3% TPH removal after 90 days. BAVC's effectiveness stemmed from synergistic mechanisms. Introduced microbial consortia were capable of TPH degradation, while vermicompost provided essential nutrients, enhanced aeration, and, potentially, acted as a biosorbent. Hence, it can be concluded that the combined application of BAVC significantly enhances TPH removal compared to natural attenuation. While the combined application of a bioelectrochemical snorkel (BES) with BAVC also showed a significant TPH removal, it did not differ statistically from the individual application of BAVC, under applied conditions. Further research is needed to optimize BES integration with BAVC for broader applicability. This study demonstrates BAVC as a scalable and mechanistically sound approach for TPH bioremediation in soil.
由于烃类物质复杂的难降解性质、疏水性、本地微生物的适应性和竞争性以及恶劣的环境条件，土壤中总石油烃（TPH）的生物降解极具挑战性。这项工作进一步证实，石油烃（TPHs）的自然衰减有限（去除率为15%），因此需要有效的生物修复策略。因此，进行了一项扩大规模的实验，以测试和优化生物堆用于TPH污染土壤生物修复的效果，实验使用了三个500千克受污染土壤的试验堆，并实施了相应的处理：包括对照土壤（CT）、生物强化和蚯蚓堆肥处理（BAVC），以及BAVC与生物电化学通气管（BESBAVC）的联合应用，所有处理均保持在田间持水量的40%。本研究发现，在试验规模水平上，成功应用BAVC处理在90天后可实现90.3%的TPH去除率。BAVC的有效性源于协同机制。引入的微生物群落能够降解TPH，而蚯蚓堆肥提供了必需的养分，增强了通气性，并且可能起到生物吸附剂的作用。因此，可以得出结论，与自然衰减相比，BAVC的联合应用显著提高了TPH的去除率。虽然生物电化学通气管（BES）与BAVC的联合应用也显示出显著的TPH去除效果，但在应用条件下，与单独应用BAVC相比，在统计学上没有差异。需要进一步研究以优化BES与BAVC的整合，以实现更广泛的适用性。本研究证明BAVC是一种可扩展且机制合理的土壤TPH生物修复方法。
