title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon removal from soil by surfactant solubilization and Phanerochaete chrysosporium oxidation.
abstract: Surfactant soil washing can remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from contaminated soil, and the white rot fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium Burdsall in Burdsall & Eslyn, can oxidize PAHs. The objective of this study was to develop a novel bioremediation technology using a combination of abiological surfactant soil washing followed by PAH biological oxidation in soil washwater using P. chrysosporium in a rotating biological contactor (RBC) reactor. Soil used for experimentation was an 11-month aged contaminated soil spiked with a total of nine PAHs: acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene, dibenz(a-h)anthracene, and benzo(ghi)perylene. After 11 months of aging, recovery percentages of high molecular weight PAHs [i.e., from chrysene to benzo(ghi)perylene] were greater than 86%, while those of low molecular weight PAHs (i.e., from acenaphthene to pyrene) were less than 19%. Total removal efficiency for any of the nine PAHs was greater than 90% using a combination of surfactant soil washing and P. chrysosporium oxidation of soil washwater in the RBC reactor when used in batch operation, and greater than 76% when used in continuous operation. The treatment of PAH-contaminated soil using a combination of surfactant soil washing and subsequent PAH removal from the resultant washwater in an RBC reactor, in the presence of immobilized P. chrysosporium, permits (i) a rapid abiological cleanup of soil for compliance with relevant soil quality standards and (ii) PAH biological removal in soil washwater for compliance with aqueous discharge standards.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, 4 Engineering Drive 4, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 129791.
authors.forename: Zhongming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jeffrey Philip
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Obbard
mesh_terms: D001682:Biological Availability; D019149:Bioreactors; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D020075:Phanerochaete / Q000502:physiology*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011786:Quality Control; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D012995:Solubility; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D013501:Surface-Active Agents