Effect of ozonation on polychlorinated biphenyl degradation and on soil physico-chemical properties

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effectiveness of ozone treatment on degradation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated soils and to observe the subsequent changes in soil physico-chemical properties. Furthermore, the ability of plants to grow on the ozone-treated soils was evaluated. Soils with different physico-chemical characteristics spiked with seven PCB congeners in two different time periods were chosen. Ozonation was more efficient for PCB degradation in freshly spiked soils and the removal efficiency increased with increasing ozonation time. The highest decrease was found in the soil with a lower soil organic matter (SOM) content and a coarser soil structure indicating the substantial effect of soil characteristics on the efficiency of ozonation. The composition of individual PCB congeners changed in all treatments in terms of higher accumulation rate of highly chlorinated biphenyls with a higher ozonation time. Increased mobility of several elements, changes in SOM content and in soil pH were detected after ozonation. Vulnerability of plants to these modifications was documented on rape seedlings. No inhibition in growth during any treatment and predominantly higher concentration of PCB in non-ozonated treatments were observed. Results suggest that this method can present a promising environmental friendly remediation technology for PCB contaminated soils.     

In situ ozonation of anthracene in unsaturated porous media

Soil column experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of ozonation duration, contaminant content, particle size, moisture content, OH radical scavenger and soil organic matter on the removal of anthracene by in situ ozonation. In the whole study, the gas flow rate was 100 mL/min and concentration of gaseous ozone was 40 mg/L. The removal efficiency increased with the elapsed time, but the removal rate decreased in the range of 0–90 min. As anthracene content in sand decreased from 50 to 10 mg/kg, the removal efficiency increased from 42.1% to 62.0%, and ozone passed through soil column more rapidly. However, the ozone effectiveness reduced when anthracene content dropped. Small particle size provides a large interfacial area, which led to the high removal efficiency and long ozone breakthrough time in the column. The profile of residual anthracene in soil column varied more greatly at smaller particle size. The removal efficiency reduced when the moisture content rose from 0% to 9.1%. The ozone breakthrough time also decreased with the increasing moisture content. The presence of sodium bicarbonate or humic acid reduced the removal efficiency to some extent. GC–MS was employed in this study to determine 9,10-anthraquinone as the main ozonation product.     

Combined effects of bacterial-feeding nematodes and prometryne on the soil microbial activity

Microcosm experiments were carried out to study the effects of bacterial-feeding nematodes and indigenous microbes and their interactions on the degradation of prometryne and soil microbial activity in contaminated soil. The results showed that soil indigenous microbes could degrade prometryne up to 59.6-67.9%; bacterial-feeding nematodes accelerated the degradation of prometryne in contaminated soil, and prometryne degradation was raised by 8.36-10.69%. Soil microbial biomass C (C_mic), basal soil respiration (BSR), and respiratory quotient (qCO₂) increased in the beginning of the experiment and decreased in the later stage of the experiment. Nematodes grew and reproduced quite fast, and did increase the growth of soil microbes and enhance soil microbial activity in prometryne contaminated soil during the incubation period.     

Effect of temperature on the release of hexadecane from soil by thermal treatment

A natural organic soil (2.5% of total organic carbon) was artificially contaminated with hexadecane, and thermally treated under an inert medium up to different final temperatures (150-800 degrees C) for 30 min to simulate ex situ thermal process conditions. The experiments were conducted using a complete organic soil, instead of the clays or isolated soil fractions that are commonly used. Neat and contaminated samples were separately heated to understand the impact of the soil itself and the contaminant in the release of volatiles. The soil quality as well as the quality and amount of volatile compounds generated during the process were monitored. More than 80-88% of the initial hexadecane content in the soil matrix was recovered in liquids traps after the thermal treatment, therefore the contaminant could be recovered for further recycling. The high amount of hexadecane collected without suffering chemical transformations indicated that the main mechanism for the hexadecane removal was evaporation. The analysis of the light gases released from contaminated samples indicated negligible or null hexadecane pyrolysis reaction rates, confirming that the evaporation/desorption of the contaminant are the processes that governed the removal of the contaminant from the soil. For the soil tested, of a relatively low surface area, good removal efficiencies (higher than 99.9%) were detected at about 300 degrees C, being higher temperatures not necessary to significantly improve the contamination removal.     

Growth response of Zea mays L. in pyrene-copper co-contaminated soil and the fate of pollutants

Phytoremediation, use of plants for remediation, is an emerging technology for treating heavy metals or a final polishing step for the high-level organic contamination, and may be suitable for remediation of heavy metal and organic co-contaminated soil. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of co-contamination on the growth of Zea mays L. and the fate of both heavy metal and organic pollutants, using Cu and pyrene as the model pollutants. Results showed that shoot and root biomass were affected by the copper–pyrene co-contamination, although maize grown in spiked soils showed no outward signs of phytotoxicity. With the initial concentration of 50,100 and 500 mg/kg, pyrene tended to alleviate the inhibition of Cu to Z. mays L. Pyrene in both planted and non-planted soil was greatly decreased at the end of the 4-week culture, accounting for 16–18% of initial extractable concentrations in non-planted soil and 9–14% in planted soil, which indicated that the dissipation of soil pyrene was enhanced in the presence of vegetation probably due to the biodegradation and association with the soil matrix. With the increment of Cu level, residual pyrene in the planted soil tended to increase. The pyrene residual in the presence of high concentration of Cu was even higher in the planted soil than that in the non-planted soil, which suggested that the change of the microbial composition and microbial activity or the modified root physiology under Cu stress was probably unbeneficial to the dissipation of pyrene. A more thorough understanding of the mechanisms by which metals affect the dissipation of organic pollutants in the rhizosphere could provide a much better framework on which to base manipulation. Unlike pyrene, heavy metal copper cannot be degraded. Decontamination of Cu from contaminated soils in this system required the removal of Cu by plants. It was observed that the ability of Cu phytoextraction would be inhibited under co-contamination of high level of pyrene in highly Cu-polluted soil. In the treatment of 400 mg Cu/kg and 500 mg pyrene/kg, the accumulation of Cu was less than half of that in 400 mg Cu/kg treatment.     

Canadian Field Soils II. Modeling of Quartz Occurrence

The measured mineral composition data (XRD/XRF) of 40 Canadian soils were modeled for the presence of quartz as a function of soil texture. Preliminary modeling revealed a lack of strict correlation between quartz content and mass fraction of sand. For that reason, the occurrence of quartz content was modeled as dependent on a combined fraction of sand and silt, which produced an improved correlation for all tested soils. Then, all soils were modeled separately for five assigned provinces/regions of Canada and strong correlations of quartz versus combined sand and silt fractions were obtained. Estimates of quartz content and an average thermal conductivity of other minerals were also obtained by the reverse analysis of the weighted geometric mean model applied to the experimental thermal conductivity data of saturated soils. In general, quartz estimates followed XRD/XRF data sufficiently well. The thermal conductivity of the remaining soil minerals was about 2.13 W · m^?1 · K^?1 on average and did not depend on the soil texture.     

The effect of surfactants on the distribution of organic compounds in the soil solid/water system

The efficiency of soil remediation by surfactant washing was evaluated via the measured distribution coefficients of a number of nonpolar compounds in several soil-water mixtures. The studied compounds (contaminants) are BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene) and three chlorinated pesticides (lindane, alpha-BHC, and heptachlor epoxide), which span several orders of magnitude in water solubility (S(w)). A peat, and two natural soils were used that comprise a wide range in soil organic matter (SOM) content. The surfactants tested included cationic, anionic and nonionic types, with concentrations up to five to six times the critical micelle concentration (CMC). The K(d)(*)/K(d), values were used to evaluate the remediation efficiency under various operation conditions. For relatively water soluble BTEX compounds, the surfactant adsorption on the soil surface is the deciding factor on contaminant desorption from soil. For the less-soluble pesticides, surfactant micelles in solution influence the contaminant desorption more. The contaminants partitioning to SOM or adsorbed surfactants lowers the desorption efficiency. Anionic surfactants are found to be a better choice on soil remediation because they do not form admicelle on soil surface that enhances the SOM content. Cationic surfactant, which adsorb onto soil surfaces, leads to poor remediation efficiency. An improper selection of surfactant would result in inefficiency in soil remediation by surfactant washing.     

Influence of soil grading on the characteristics of cement stabilised soil compacts

The paper deals with experimental investigations aiming at specifying optimum soil grading limits for the production of cement stabilised soil bricks (CSSB). Wide range of soil grading curves encompassing both fine and coarse grained soils were considered. Strength, durability and absorption characteristics of CSSB were examined considering 14 different types of soil grading curves and three cement contents. The investigations show that there is optimum clay content for the soil mix which yields maximum compressive strength for CSSB and the optimum clay content is about 10 and 14 % for fine grained and coarse grained soils respectively. Void ratio of the compacted specimens is the lowest at the optimum clay content and therefore possesses maximum strength at that point. CSSB using fine grained soils shows higher strength and better durability characteristics when compared to the bricks using coarse grained soils.     

Assessment of bioremediation possibilities of technical grade hexachlorocyclohexane (tech-HCH) contaminated soils

Hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) is a broad spectrum insecticide still used in some of the developing countries, though developed countries have banned or curtailed its use. Even in those countries where the use of t-HCH has been discontinued for a number of years, the problem of residues of all isomers of t-HCH remains because of its high persistence. These insecticides in the soil disturb the delicate equilibrium between microorganisms and their environment. Few reports on the degradation of t-HCH isomers in soil are present in literature, and very little information is available on the effect of these t-HCH isomers on soil microflora. In the present study, an attempt has been made to see the microbial diversity in the uncontaminated soils and the effect of application of t-HCH on the soil microflora. The soil was spiked with t-HCH and incubated, at regular time intervals the soil samples were analyzed for microbial diversity as well as t-HCH isomers residues. The results show that at higher concentrations of t-HCH, microbial populations were inhibited and the inhibited populations did not reappear even after prolonged incubation. Potential t-HCH degrading cultures were isolated and subjected to further acclimation in order to enhance their degradation capacity. The results are presented and discussed in this paper.     

Influence of Fenton oxidation on soil organic matter and its sorption and desorption of pyrene

The influences of Fenton oxidation on the content and composition of soil organic matter (SOM) and the consequent change of its sorption and desorption of pyrene were investigated using three soil samples. The results showed that both the content and the composition of the SOM changed, with total SOM content decreasing. The content of humic acid (HA) was reduced, while the content of humin did not change significantly, however the content of fulvic acid (FA) had a tendency to increase. Correlation analysis of soil-water distribution coefficient (K(d)) and different parts of the SOM reveals that humin and HA are the key factors controlling the sorption of pyrene. Organic carbon normalized K(d) (K(OC)) varied to different extents after Fenton oxidation due to the change of SOM composition. The reduction of K(OC) is significant in Soils 1 and 2 where large part of HA was reduced to FA, whose sorption ability is low. The change of K(OC) by oxidation in Soil 3 is not so significant due to that the percentage of humin and HA in Soil 3 did not change greatly after oxidation. Desorption was hysteretic in all cases, and humin percentage was found to be the key factor on the extent of desorption hystersis. Oxidation made desorption more hysteretic due to the elevated proportion of humin.     

Effects of soil properties on surfactant adsorption

Abstract

The effects of surface area, soil organic matter (SOM) content, and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of natural soils and clays on the adsorption capacity of cationic, anionic, and nonionic surfactants in water‐solid systems were investigated based on the adsorption isotherm analysis. The sorption capacity for a cationic surfactant was proportional to the CEC of the solids. For both anionic and nonionic surfactants, the sorption capacity was related to the soil mineral fraction. However, other soil properties probably affect the practical sorption. The investigated soil properties were treated case by case.     

接种白腐菌堆制法修复Pb污染土壤的研究

采用接种白腐菌堆制法对模拟Pb污染土壤进行了生物修复.通过监测土壤基本理化性状、土壤中Pb的各形态含量及微生物学指标(微生物生物量、微生物代谢商、微生物商、微生物C/N、微生物群落代谢能力),系统地研究了白腐菌修复作用下土壤理化性状的动态变化、Pb生物有效性的改变以及土壤微生物学效应的变化.结果表明,接种白腐菌堆制法能有效地修复Pb污染土壤,降低Pb的生物有效性,减小Pb对土壤微生物的抑制,改善土壤中微生物效应.污染土壤经接种白腐菌堆制法修复后,土壤中Pb主要以残留态和铁锰氧化物结合态存在,水溶交换态Pb分配系数为0;微生物生物量较高,达2.258 mg/g;微生物群落代谢能力较强,丰富度为72目,群落指数为4.995.     

Soil type affects plant colonization, activity and catabolic gene expression of inoculated bacterial strains during phytoremediation of diesel

The combined use of plants and associated microorganisms has great potential for cleaning up soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Apart from environmental conditions the physicochemical properties of the soil are the main factors influencing the survival and activity of an inoculated strain as well as the growth of plants. This study examined the effect of different soil types (sandy, loamy sand and loam) on the survival, gene abundance and catabolic gene expression of two inoculated strains (Pseudomonas sp. strain ITRI53 and Pantoea sp. strain BTRH79) in the rhizosphere and shoot interior of Italian ryegrass vegetated in diesel contaminated soils. High colonization, gene abundance and expression in loamy soils were observed. By contrast, low colonization, gene abundance and absence of gene expression in sandy soil were found. The highest levels of genes expression and hydrocarbon degradation were seen in loamy soil that had been inoculated with BTRH79 and were significantly higher compared to those in other soils. A positive correlation was observed between gene expression and hydrocarbon degradation indicating that catabolic gene expression is necessary for contaminant degradation. These results suggest that soil type influences the bacterial colonization and microbial activities and subsequently the efficiency of contaminant degradation.     

Low-temperature thermal desorption of diesel polluted soil: influence of temperature and soil texture on contaminant removal kinetics

Five soil size aggregate fractions, corresponding to coarse (500-840 μm), medium (200-350 μm), fine (75-200 μm) sand, silt (10-75 μm) and clay (<4 μm), were artificially contaminated with diesel, and thermally treated using a laboratory scale apparatus to investigate the effect of soil texture on contaminant adsorption and removal. Ex situ thermal process was simulated using helium as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1.5 L min(-1), different temperatures (100-300 °C) and different treatment times (5-30 min). The amount of contaminant adsorbed on the soil and the residual amount after thermal treatment was determined by gas chromatography. Results showed that adsorption phenomena and desorption efficiency were affected by the soil texture and that temperature and time of treatment were key factors in remedial process. A temperature of 175 °C is sufficient to remedy diesel polluted sandy and silty soils, whereas a higher temperature (250 °C) is needed for clays. Thermal desorption of diesel polluted soil was shown to be governed by first-order kinetics. Results are of practical interest and may be used in scaling-up and designing desorption systems for preliminary cost and optimal condition assessment.     

Determination of saturated surface-dry condition of clay–sand mixed soils for soil–cement concrete construction

Saturated surface-dry condition of soil needs to be known when soil–cement concrete mix is rationally designed. Based on the effective water concept, determination of the saturated surface-dry moisture content (hereafter referred to as w _ssd) of clay–sand mixed soil, necessary for determining unit water of soil–cement concrete construction, is dealt with in this study. The saturated surface-dry condition of soil, where soil water exhibits the same chemical potential as that of cement paste, can be determined both with drying rate method and pF method. Mixed soils were prepared in combination with six cohesive soils, standard sand and a recycled fine aggregate. Drying rate method and pF method were proven to be effective in determining w _ssd of any combinations of the soils. Relationship between volume fractions of cohesive soil and sand and w _ssd was found to be a linear equation.     

Influence of Rhizobium meliloti on phytoremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by alfalfa in an aged contaminated soil

Microbe-assisted phytoremediation is emerging as one of the most effective means by which plants and their associated rhizosphere microbes degrade organic contaminants in soils. A pot study was conducted to examine the effects of inoculation with Rhizobium meliloti on phytoremediation by alfalfa grown for 90 days in an agricultural soil contaminated with weathered polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Planting with uninoculated alfalfa (P) and alfalfa inoculated with R. meliloti (PR) significantly lowered the initial soil PAH concentrations by 37.2 and 51.4% respectively compared with unplanted control soil. Inoculation with R. meliloti significantly increased the counts of culturable PAH-degrading bacteria, soil microbial activity and the carbon utilization ability of the soil microbial community. The results suggest that the symbiotic association between alfalfa and Rhizobium can stimulate the rhizosphere microflora to degrade PAHs and its application may be a promising bioremediation strategy for aged PAH-contaminated soils.     

Heavy metal contaminants removal by soil washing

The feasibility of soil washing for decontaminating a silty sand spiked with cadmium, chromium, lead, and zinc was evaluated in laboratory-scale batch and column experiments. Soil samples were subjected to chelant extraction using a solution of disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (Na(2)EDTA), sodium metabisulfite (Na(2)S(2)O(5)) solution (an inexpensive reducing reagent), and a solution containing a mixture of the two reagents. Batch and column washing of the contaminated soil with deionized water (DI water) revealed that approximately 70% of the cadmium in the sample is weakly bound and readily mobilized in aqueous solution at neutral pH, followed by approximately 25%-30% of zinc, approximately 20%-25% chromium, and only approximately 10% of lead. Of the washing reagents tested, Na(2)EDTA solutions were generally more effective than Na(2)S(2)O(5) for removing heavy metals from the soil samples. Na(2)EDTA preferentially extracted lead over zinc and cadmium but exhibited little impact on chromium removal. Cadmium and, especially zinc, removal by a 0.01-M Na(2)EDTA solution were enhanced considerably by inclusion of 0.1 M Na(2)S(2)O(5), suggesting that a mixture of the two reagents may provide an economically optimum solution for certain contaminated soils.     

Effect of amended soil and hydraulic load on enhanced biological nitrogen removal in lab-scale SWIS

To characterize the effect of amended soil on nitrogen removal in subsurface wastewater infiltration system (SWIS), culture, grass carbon, and zeolite were mixed to produce microbial inoculums, and then the optimal microbial inoculums, nutrient substance, cinder, and original soil were mixed to produce the soils through bioaugmentation. Results indicate that the microbial inoculums (culture+50% grass carbon+50% zeolite) and the amended soil (12.5% microbial inoculums+25% nutrient substrate+12.5% cinder+50% original soil) have the optimal biogenic stimulating properties, and the adsorption capacity of the amended soil are 1.216 mg-Pg(-1) and 0.495 mg-Ng(-1). The laboratory soil column experiment indicates that the efficient mode of nitrogen removal in lab-scale SWIS is adsorption-nitrification-denitrification and the nitrification/denitrification can be enhanced by the application of the amended soil. On average, the SWIS filled with amended soil converts 85% of ammonia nitrogen (NH(4)(+)-N) to NO(x)(-)-N and removes 49.8-60.6% of total nitrogen (TN), while the system filled with original soil removes 80% of NH(4)(+)-N and 31.3-43.2% of TN at 4-8 cm day(-1). Two systems are overloads at 10 cm day(-1). It is concluded that the microbial activities and nitrogen removal efficiencies are improved in SWIS after bioaugmentation.     

Soil quality indicators response to application of hydrophilic polymers to a soil from a sulfide mine

In soils impacted by mining activities a vegetal cover is required to protect the site from the erosive forces of water and wind. The success of this objective depends on plant establishment and canopy closure. Polyacryalate polymers aid the growth of crops and indigenous plants in soils from sulfide mines. Soil characteristics change as a consequence of polymer application, but indicators that pinpoint these changes have not been identified yet. Our objectives were to (1) identify the sensitive indicators of changes in soil quality following polymer application, (2) relate these with assessment based on plant growth and soil cover. A mine soil was left unamended or received a characterized polyacrylate, a polyacrylate removed from diapers, or shredded diapers. Biomass of Spergularia purpurea was measured and proportion of soil cover evaluated. Soil enzymes, microbial activity, and respiration were analyzed. Availability of potentially toxic trace elements was estimated by their concentration in shoots. Factor analysis identified three factors that accounted for 94% of the variation in parameters, and the scores separated the four treatments. The indicators with greatest communality were correlated with plant growth and soil cover. The best soil quality indicators were As and Zn in shoots, protease, β-glucosidase, and fructose-induced respiration. It seems that the most important indicators to be used to assess the restoration of sulfide mine soils are those related with bioavailability of trace elements and soil enzymatic activities.     

Bioremediation of endosulfan contaminated soil and water -- optimization of operating conditions in laboratory scale reactors

A mixed bacterial culture consisted of Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus circulans-I and -II has been enriched from contaminated soil collected from the vicinity of an endosulfan processing industry. The degradation of endosulfan by mixed bacterial culture was studied in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions via batch experiments with an initial endosulfan concentration of 50mg/L. After 3 weeks of incubation, mixed bacterial culture was able to degrade 71.58+/-0.2% and 75.88+/-0.2% of endosulfan in aerobic and facultative anaerobic conditions, respectively. The addition of external carbon (dextrose) increased the endosulfan degradation in both the conditions. The optimal dextrose concentration and inoculum size was estimated as 1g/L and 75mg/L, respectively. The pH of the system has significant effect on endosulfan degradation. The degradation of alpha endosulfan was more compared to beta endosulfan in all the experiments. Endosulfan biodegradation in soil was evaluated by miniature and bench scale soil reactors. The soils used for the biodegradation experiments were identified as clayey soil (CL, lean clay with sand), red soil (GM, silty gravel with sand), sandy soil (SM, silty sand with gravel) and composted soil (PT, peat) as per ASTM (American society for testing and materials) standards. Endosulfan degradation efficiency in miniature soil reactors were in the order of sandy soil followed by red soil, composted soil and clayey soil in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In bench scale soil reactors, endosulfan degradation was observed more in the bottom layers. After 4 weeks, maximum endosulfan degradation efficiency of 95.48+/-0.17% was observed in red soil reactor where as in composted soil-I (moisture 38+/-1%) and composted soil-II (moisture 45+/-1%) it was 96.03+/-0.23% and 94.84+/-0.19%, respectively. The high moisture content in compost soil reactor-II increased the endosulfan concentration in the leachate. Known intermediate metabolites of endosulfan were absent in all the above degradation studies.