Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soilwater systems

This study is concerned with the biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), particularly the utilization of biological processes in the bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils. In this regard, the effects of the contaminant bioavailability and the redox environment on the biodegradation process have been investigated.First, the mineralization of naphthalene in soil/water systems under denitrifying conditions has been studied. Results showed that naphthalene mineralization is influenced by its availability to the microbial population, which in turn is a function of the compound initial concentration, the sorption/desorption characteristics of the soil/contaminant complex and the organic content of the soil.Second, the biodegradation of four PAH compounds, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, fluorene and anthracene, in a soil/water system under four redox environments has been studied. Both aerobic and denitrifying environments supported appreciable PAH biodegradation rates. The denitrifying environment was chosen for a further experiment to investigate the performance of a bioreactor system in treating PAH-contaminated soils. Results showed that by enlarging the scale of the reactor by approximately eight times and simultaneously reducing the mixing intensity of the soil slurry, the biodegradation rates of the PAH compounds remained virtually unchanged