Development of an NDIR CO₂ sensor-based system for assessing soil toxicity using substrate-induced respiration.
The eco-toxicological indicators used to evaluate soil quality complement the physico-chemical criteria employed in contaminated site remediation, but their cost, time, sophisticated analytical methods and in-situ inapplicability pose a major challenge to rapidly detect and map the extent of soil contamination. This paper describes a sensor-based approach for measuring potential (substrate-induced) microbial respiration in diesel-contaminated and non-contaminated soil and hence, indirectly evaluates their microbial activity. A simple CO2 sensing system was developed using an inexpensive non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) CO2 sensor and was successfully deployed to differentiate the control and diesel-contaminated soils in terms of CO2 emission after glucose addition. Also, the sensor system distinguished glucose-induced CO2 emission from sterile and control soil samples (p ≤ 0.0001). Significant effects of diesel contamination (p ≤ 0.0001) and soil type (p ≤ 0.0001) on glucose-induced CO2 emission were also found. The developed sensing system can provide in-situ evaluation of soil microbial activity, an indicator of soil quality. The system can be a promising tool for the initial screening of contaminated environmental sites to create high spatial density maps at a relatively low cost.
Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada. jasmeen.kaur@mail.mcgill.ca.
Jasmeen
J
Kaur
Department of Bioresource Engineering, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada. viacheslav.adamchuk@mcgill.ca.
Viacheslav I
VI
Adamchuk
Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada. joann.whalen@mcgill.ca.
Joann K
JK
Whalen
Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, McGill University, 21111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada. ashraf.ismail@mail.mcgill.ca.
Ashraf A
AA
Ismail
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000633:toxicity; D019069:Cell Respiration / Q000187:drug effects; D005742:Gasoline / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared
D005742:Gasoline; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002245:Carbon Dioxide