Clean up of Petroleum-Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soils Using Enhanced Bioremediation System: Laboratory Feasibility Study
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136, Issue 6
Abstract
The objective of this study was to assess the potential of applying enhanced bioremediation on the treatment of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soils. Microcosm experiments were conducted to determine the optimal biodegradation conditions. The control factors included oxygen content, nutrient addition, addition of commercially available mixed microbial inocula, addition of wood chip and rice husk mixtures (volume ) as bulking agents, and addition of organic amendments (chicken manures). Results indicate that the supplement of microbial inocula or chicken manures could significantly increase the microbial populations in soils, and thus enhance the efficiency of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal (initial ). The highest first-order TPH decay rate and removal ratio were approximately and 85%, respectively, observed in microcosms containing microbial inocula (mass ratio of soil to ), nutrient, and bulking agent (volume ratio of soil to bulking to 1) during 155 days of incubation. Results indicate that the first-order TPH decay rates of 0.015 and can be obtained with the addition of microbial inocula and chicken manures, respectively, compared with the decay rate of under intrinsic conditions. Thus, chicken manures have the potential to be used as substitutes of commercial microbial inocula. The decay rate and removal ratio can be further enhanced to and 87%, respectively, with frequent soil shaking and air replacement. Results will be useful in designing an ex situ soil bioremediation systems (e.g., biopile and land farming) for practical application.
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Acknowledgments
This project was funded in part by National Science Council in Taiwan (Grant No. NSCT95-2622-E-110-002-CC3). Additional thanks to Professor B. Y. Yang of University of Hawaii, United States and Professor S. C. Chen of National Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan for their support and assistance throughout this project. The views or opinions expressed in this article are those of the writers and should not be construed as opinions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 136 • Issue 6 • June 2010
Pages: 597 - 606
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Dec 13, 2008
Accepted: Oct 2, 2009
Published online: Oct 5, 2009
Published in print: Jun 2010
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