Possible enhancement of biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in agricultural soil after tank truck accident (~5000 mg/kg dry soil initial concentration) by bioaugmentation of diesel degrading Pseudomonas fluorescens strain and addition of abiotic additives (humates, zeolite) was studied in a 9-month pot experiment. The biodegradation process was followed by means of analytical parameters (hydrocarbon index expressed as content of C10-C40 aliphatic hydrocarbons, ratio pristane/C17, and total organic carbon content) and characterization of soil microbial community (content of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) as an indicator of living microbial biomass, respiration, and dehydrogenase activity). The concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons (C10-C40) was successfully reduced by ~60% in all 15 experiment variants. The bioaugmentation resulted in faster hydrocarbon elimination. On the contrary, the addition of humates and zeolite caused only a negligible increase in the degradation rate. These factors, however, affected significantly the amount of PLFA. The humates caused significantly faster increase of the total PLFA suggesting improvement of the soil microenvironment. Zeolite caused significantly slower increase of the total PLFA; nevertheless it aided in homogenization of the soil. Comparison of microbial activities and total PLFA revealed that only a small fraction of autochthonous microbes took part in the biodegradation which confirms that bioaugmentation was the most important treatment.

Biological Centre AV ČR v v i Institute of Soil Biology Na Sádkách 7 370 05 České Budějovice Czech Republic

Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem Faculty of Environment Králova Výšina 3132 7 400 96 Ústí nad Labem Czech Republic

MikroChem LKT spol s r o Přeseka 52 379 01 Třeboň Czech Republic

Research Institute of Inorganic Chemistry a s Revoluční 84 400 01 Ústí nad Labem Czech Republic

Research Institute of Inorganic Chemistry a s Revoluční 84 400 01 Ústí nad Labem Czech Republic ; Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem Faculty of Environment Králova Výšina 3132 7 400 96 Ústí nad Labem Czech Republic ; MikroChem LKT spol s r o Přeseka 52 379 01 Třeboň Czech Republic

Zobrazit více v PubMed

Stroud JL, Paton GI, Semple KT. Microbe-aliphatic hydrocarbon interactions in soil: implications for biodegradation and bioremediation. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 2007;102(5):1239–1253. PubMed

Yakubu MB. Biological approach to oil spills remediation in the soil. African Journal of Biotechnology. 2007;6(24):2735–2739.

Caliman FA, Robu BM, Smaranda C, Pavel VL, Gavrilescu M. Soil and groundwater cleanup: benefits and limits of emerging technologies. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 2011;13(2):241–268.

Juwarkar AA, Singh SK, Mudhoo A. A comprehensive overview of elements in bioremediation. Reviews in Environmental Science and Biotechnology. 2010;9(3):215–288.

Pandey J, Chauhan A, Jain RK. Integrative approaches for assessing the ecological sustainability of in situ bioremediation. FEMS Microbiology Reviews. 2009;33(2):324–375. PubMed

Tyagi M, da Fonseca MMR, de Carvalho CCCR. Bioaugmentation and biostimulation strategies to improve the effectiveness of bioremediation processes. Biodegradation. 2011;22(2):231–241. PubMed

Sarkar D, Ferguson M, Datta R, Birnbaum S. Bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons in contaminated soils: comparison of biosolids addition, carbon supplementation, and monitored natural attenuation. Environmental Pollution. 2005;136(1):187–195. PubMed

Fava F, Piccolo A. Effects of humic substances on the bioavailability and aerobic biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in a model soil. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 2002;77(2):204–211. PubMed

Ke L, Bao W, Chen L, Wong YS, Tam NFY. Effects of humic acid on solubility and biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in liquid media and mangrove sediment slurries. Chemosphere. 2009;76(8):1102–1108. PubMed

Plaza C, Xing B, Fernández JM, Senesi N, Polo A. Binding of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by humic acids formed during composting. Environmental Pollution. 2009;157(1):257–263. PubMed

Fava F, Berselli S, Conte P, Piccolo A, Marchetti L. Effects of humic substances and soya lecithin on the aerobic bioremediation of a soil historically contaminated by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 2004;88(2):214–223. PubMed

Dercová K, Sejáková Z, Skokanová M, Barančíková G, Makovníková J. Bioremediation of soil contaminated with pentachlorophenol (PCP) using humic acids bound on zeolite. Chemosphere. 2007;66(5):783–790. PubMed

Turgay OC, Erdogan EE, Karaca A. Effect of humic deposit (leonardite) on degradation of semi-volatile and heavy hydrocarbons and soil quality in crude-oil-contaminated soil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 2010;170(1–4):45–58. PubMed

Skokanová M, Dercová K. Interactions of humic acids with contaminants. Chemicke Listy. 2008;102(5):338–345.

Janoš P, Kopecká A, Hejda S. Utilization of waste humate product (iron humate) for the phosphorus removal from waters. Desalination. 2011;265(1–3):88–92.

Liang Y, Zhang X, Dai D, Li G. Porous biocarrier-enhanced biodegradation of crude oil contaminated soil. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation. 2009;63(1):80–87.

European union council directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, 1999.

Zelles L, Bai QY, Rackwitz R, Chadwick D, Beese F. Determination of phospholipid- and lipopolysaccharide-derived fatty acids as an estimate of microbial biomass and community structures in soils. Biology and Fertility of Soils. 1995;19(2-3):115–123.

Kaur A, Chaudhary A, Kaur A, Choudhary R, Kaushik R. Phospholipid fatty acid: a bioindicator of environment monitoring and assessment in soil ecosystem. Current Science. 2005;89(7):1103–1112.

Kieft TL, Wilch E, O’Connor K, Ringelberg DB, White DC. Survival and phospholipid fatty acid profiles of surface and subsurface bacteria in natural sediment microcosms. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 1997;63(4):1531–1542. PubMed PMC

Trogl J, Jirkova I, Zemankova P, et al. Estimation of the quantity of bacteria encapsulated in Lentikats Biocatalyst via phospholipid fatty acids content: a preliminary study. Folia Microbiologica. 2013;58:135–140. PubMed

Automotive fuels—Diesel—Requirements and test methods. European Committee For Standardization (CEN) 2004;(EN 590)

Janoš P, Závodská L, Lesný J, et al. Young brown coals for environmental applications: composition, acid-base, ion-exchange, and sorption properties of selected central European coals. In: Stewart JJ, editor. Coal Extraction. New York, NY, USA: Nova Science Publishers; 2011. pp. 71–90.

Novák J, Kozler J, Janoš P, Čežíková J, Tokarová V, Madronová L. Humic acids from coals of the North-Bohemian coal field I. Preparation and characterization. Reactive and Functional Polymers. 2001;47(2):101–109.

Čejková A, Masák J, Jirků V. Use of mineral nutrients and surface-active substances in a biodegradation process modulation. Folia Microbiologica. 1997;42(5):513–516. PubMed

Kuráň P, Nováková J, Janoš P. Determination of hydrocarbon index of C10-C40 in composts and sludges by GC-FID with traditional split/splitless injector. Chemicke Listy. 2011;105(2):133–137.

I. S. Organization. Soil Quality: determination of organic carbon in soil by sulfochromic oxidation. ISO. 1998;(14235)

Frouz J, Cajthaml T, Kříbek B, et al. Deep, subsurface microflora after excavation respiration and biomass and its potential role in degradation of fossil organic matter. Folia Microbiologica. 2011;56(5):389–396. PubMed

Frouz J, Krištůfek V, Livečková M, van Loo D, Jacobs P, van Hoorebeke L. Microbial properties of soil aggregates created by earthworms and other factors: spherical and prismatic soil aggregates from unreclaimed post-mining sites. Folia Microbiologica. 2011;56(1):36–43. PubMed

Helingerová M, Frouz J, Šantrůčková H. Microbial activity in reclaimed and unreclaimed post-mining sites near Sokolov (Czech Republic) Ecological Engineering. 2010;36(6):768–776.

I. S. Organization. Soil quality: determination of dehydrogenase activity in soils. Part 1: method using triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) ISO. 2005;(23753-1)

Christensen LB, Larsen TH. Method for determining the age of diesel oil spills in the soil. Ground Water Monitoring and Remediation. 1993;13(4):142–149.

Benyahia F, Abdulkarim M, Zekri A, Chaalal O, Hasanain H. Bioremediation of crude oil contaminated soils: A black art or an engineering challenge? Process Safety and Environmental Protection. 2005;83(4):364–370.

Moliterni E, Rodriguez L, Fernández FJ, Villaseñor J. Feasibility of different bioremediation strategies for treatment of clayey and silty soils recently polluted with diesel hydrocarbons. Water, Air and Soil Pollution. 2012;223:2473–2482.

Moliterni E, Jimenez-Tusset RG, Rayo MV, Rodriguez L, Fernandez FJ, Villasenor J. Kinetics of biodegradation of diesel fuel by enriched microbial consortia from polluted soils. International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2012;9:749–758.

Bailey VL, Peacock AD, Smith JL, Bolton J. Relationships between soil microbial biomass determined by chloroform fumigation-extraction, substrate-induced respiration, and phospholipid fatty acid analysis. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 2002;34(9):1385–1389.

Frouz J, Nováková A. Development of soil microbial properties in topsoil layer during spontaneous succession in heaps after brown coal mining in relation to humus microstructure development. Geoderma. 2005;129(1-2):54–64.

Holec M, Frouz J. The effect of two ant species Lasius niger and Lasius flavus on soil properties in two contrasting habitats. European Journal of Soil Biology. 2006;42(supplement 1):S213–S217.

Akaike H. New look at statistical-model identification. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control. 1974;AC-19(6):716–723.

Stokes JD, Paton GI, Semple KT. Behaviour and assessment of bioavailability of organic contaminants in soil: relevance for risk assessment and remediation. Soil Use and Management. 2005;21:475–486.

Physiological Response of Miscanthus x giganteus to Plant Growth Regulators in Nutritionally Poor Soil