Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons in Contaminated Wood: A Proof‐of‐Concept Study

A proof‐of‐concept study to evaluate the biological removal of hydrocarbons (naphthalene, n‐hexadecane, and fuel oil #2) from contaminated wood (Southern yellow pine) was conducted using 14C‐labeled tracers and gas chromatography. Contaminated wood was brought in contact with n‐hexadecane‐degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa PG201 or naphthalene degrading environmental isolates by the application either on mineral medium agar or filter paper containing a previously grown biomass (“overlay” technique). The experiments showed a significant acceleration of naphthalene removal by biomass. Due to biodegradation combined with evaporation, naphthalene was nearly completely removed (up to 90–98 %) in 4–8 days from freshly contaminated 6 mm‐ and 17 mm‐thick wood samples. The removal of a less volatile hydrocarbon, n‐hexadecane, was less efficient, at 40–60% in 20–40 days, with the only variable significantly affecting this pollutant's removal rate being the moisture content of the medium. Biodegradation experiments with standard heating fuel oil #2 (a representative real‐world contaminant) resulted in significant removal of light hydrocarbons (C10–C16), i.e., more mobile/volatile substrates, in 3 weeks (up to 70 %) whereas heavier hydrocarbons (C17–C19) were less affected. Pollutant mobility in both wood and aqueous media was shown to be the crucial factor affecting the removal efficiency. These results point toward a promising technique to reclaim wooden structures contaminated with volatile and semi‐volatile chemicals.

[1]  M. K. Beklemishev,et al.  Bioremediation of Concrete Contaminated with n-Hexadecane and Naphthalene , 2003 .

[2]  James L. Brown,et al.  Restoration of Petroleum-Contaminated Soil Using Phased Bioremediation , 2002 .

[3]  M. Huesemann,et al.  Microbial Factors Rather Than Bioavailability Limit the Rate and Extent of PAH Biodegradation in Aged Crude Oil Contaminated Model Soils , 2002 .

[4]  J. W. Leonard,et al.  Bioremediation of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Sediments in Aerated Bioslurry Reactors , 2002 .

[5]  C. Cosma,et al.  Determination of 222Rn emanation fraction and diffusion coefficient in concrete using accumulation chambers and the influence of humidity and radium distribution. , 2001, Applied radiation and isotopes : including data, instrumentation and methods for use in agriculture, industry and medicine.

[6]  R. Blanchette,et al.  Bacterial Biodegradation of Extractives and Patterns of Bordered Pit Membrane Attack in Pine Wood , 2000, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[7]  W. B. Betts,et al.  Role of rhamnolipid biosurfactants in the uptake and mineralization of hexadecane in Pseudomonas aeruginosa , 2000, Journal of applied microbiology.

[8]  M. Romantschuk,et al.  Means to improve the effect of in situ bioremediation of contaminated soil: an overview of novel approaches. , 2000, Environmental pollution.

[9]  E. Kozliak,et al.  Efficient Steady-State Volatile Organic Compound Removal from Air by Live Bacteria Immobilized on Fiber Supports , 2000 .

[10]  D. Kosson,et al.  Modeling of the gaseous diffusion coefficient in the presence of NAPL , 1998 .

[11]  R. Lenhard,et al.  Formation and Removal of Hydrocarbon Residual in Porous Media: Effects of Attached Bacteria and Biosurfactants , 1997 .

[12]  B. J. McCoy,et al.  Nonconvective movement of VOCs in moist soil , 1996 .

[13]  A. Zehnder,et al.  Effect of desorption and intraparticle mass transfer on the aerobic biomineralization of a-hexachlorocyclohexane in a contaminated calcareous soil. , 1990 .

[14]  J. Pignatello,et al.  Persistence of 1,2-dibromoethane in soils: entrapment in intraparticle micropores , 1987 .

[15]  Edward L Cussler,et al.  Diffusion: Mass Transfer in Fluid Systems , 1984 .

[16]  W. Shiu,et al.  A critical review of Henry’s law constants for chemicals of environmental interest , 1981 .

[17]  I. Banat,et al.  Bioremediation of gasoline contaminated soil by a bacterial consortium amended with poultry litter, coir pith and rhamnolipid biosurfactant. , 2002, Bioresource technology.

[18]  A. Zehnsdorf,et al.  Improvement of the bioavailability of hydrocarbons by applying nonionic surfactants during the microbial remediation of a sandy soil. , 2000 .

[19]  R. Naidu,et al.  Bioremediation of high molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: a review of the microbial degradation of benzo[a]pyrene. , 2000 .

[20]  A. Kubátová,et al.  Investigation into PCB biodegradation using uniformly 14C-labelled dichlorobiphenyl. , 1998, Isotopes in environmental and health studies.

[21]  A. Zehnder,et al.  Mass transfer limitation of biotransformation: quantifying bioavailability , 1997 .

[22]  John F. Siau,et al.  Wood--influence of moisture on physical properties , 1995 .

[23]  A. J. Panshin,et al.  Textbook of wood technology : structure, identification, properties, and uses of the commercial woods of the United States and Canada , 1980 .

[24]  H. Stephen,et al.  Solubilities of inorganic and organic compounds , 1963 .