Removal of high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated soil by biodiesel

Abstract

Solubilizing experiments were carried out to evaluate the ability of biodiesel to remove polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from highly contaminated manufactured gas plant (MGP) and PAHs spiked soils with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) and tween 80 as comparisons. Biodiesel displayed the highest solubilities of phenanthrene (420.7 mg·L^-1), pyrene (541.0 mg·L^-1), and benzo(a)pyrene (436.3 mg·L^-1). These corresponded to several fold increases relative to 10% HPCD and tween 80. Biodiesel showed a good efficiency for PAH removal from the spiked and MGP soils for both low molecular weight and high molecular weight PAHs at high concentrations. Biodiesel was the best agent for PAH removal from the spiked soils as compared with HPCD and tween 80; as over 77.9% of individual PAH were removed by biodiesel. Tween 80 also showed comparable capability with biodiesel for PAH solubilization at a concentration of 10% for the spiked soils. Biodiesel solubilized a wider range of PAHs as compared to HPCD and tween 80 for the MPG soils. At PAH concentrations of 229.6 and 996.9 mg·kg^-1, biodiesel showed obvious advantage over the 10% HPCD and tween 80, because it removed higher than 80% of total PAH. In this study, a significant difference between PAH removals from the spiked and field MGP soils was observed; PAH removals from the MGP soil by HPCD and tween 80 were much lower than those from the spiked soil. These results demonstrate that the potential for utilizing biodiesel for remediation of highly PAH-contaminated soil has been established.

Keywords

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) / biodiesel / soil / removal / solubilization

References

[1] Haritash A K, Kaushik C P. Biodegradation aspects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): a review. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009, 169(1-3): 1–15

[2] Hawthorne S B, Poppendieck D G, Grabanski C B, Loehr R C. Comparing PAH availability from manufactured gas plant soils and sediments with chemical and biological tests. 1. PAH release during water desorption and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. Environmental Science & Technology, 2002, 36(22): 4795–4803

[3] Tao S, Cui Y H, Xu F L, Li B G, Cao J, Liu W X, Schmitt G, Wang X J, Shen W R, Qing B P, Sun R. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in agricultural soil and vegetables from Tianjin. The Science of the Total Environment, 2004, 320(1): 11–24

[4] Karimi-Lotfabad S K, Pickard M A, Gray M R. Reactions of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons on soil. Environmental Science & Technology, 1996, 30(4): 1145–1151

[5] Teng Y, Luo Y M, Ping L F, Zou D X, Li Z G, Christie P. Effects of soil amendment with different carbon sources and other factors on the bioremediation of an aged PAH-contaminated soil. Biodegradation, 2010, 21(2): 167–178

[6] Johnsen A R, Wick L Y, Harms H. Principles of microbial PAH-degradation in soil. Environmental Pollution, 2005, 133(1): 71–84

[7] Berselli S, Milone G, Canepa P, Di Gioia D, Fava F. Effects of cyclodextrins, humic substances, and rhamnolipids on the washing of a historically contaminated soil and on the aerobic bioremediation of the resulting effluents. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2004, 88(1): 111–120

[8] Lei A P, Hu Z L, Wong Y S, Tam N F Y. Removal of fluoranthene and pyrene by different microalgal species. Bioresource Technology, 2007, 98(2): 273–280

[9] Hong Y W, Yuan D X, Lin Q M, Yang T L. Accumulation and biodegradation of phenanthrene and fluoranthene by the algae enriched from a mangrove aquatic ecosystem. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2008, 56(8): 1400–1405

[10] Ehsan S, Prasher S O, Marshall W D. Simultaneous mobilization of heavy metals and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds from soil with cyclodextrin and EDTA in admixture. Chemosphere, 2007, 68(1): 150–158

[11] Khodadoust A P, Bagchi R, Suidan M T, Brenner R C, Sellers N G. Removal of PAHs from highly contaminated soils found at prior manufactured gas operations. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2000, 80(1-3): 159–174

[12] Zhao B, Zhu L, Li W, Chen B. Solubilization and biodegradation of phenanthrene in mixed anionic-nonionic surfactant solutions. Chemosphere, 2005, 58(1): 33–40

[13] Han M, Ji G, Ni J. Washing of field weathered crude oil contaminated soil with an environmentally compatible surfactant, alkyl polyglucoside. Chemosphere, 2009, 76(5): 579–586

[14] Khodadoust A P, Reddy K R, Maturi K. Effect of different extraction agents on metal and organic contaminant removal from a field soil. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2005, 117(1): 15–24

[15] Chu W. Remediation of contaminated solid by surfactant-aided soil washing. Practice Periodical of Hazardous Toxic and Radioactive Waste Management, 2003, 7(1): 19–24

[16] Tungittiplakorn W, Cohen C, Lion L W. Engineered polymeric nanoparticles for bioremediation of hydrophobic contaminants. Environmental Science & Technology, 2005, 39(5): 1354–1358

[17] Khodadoust A, Reddy K, Maturi K. Removal of phenanthrene from kaoilin soil using different extractants. Environmental Engineering Science, 2004, 21(6): 691–704

[18] Khalladi R, Benhabiles O, Bentahar F, Moulai-Mostefa N. Surfactant remediation of diesel fuel polluted soil. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009, 164(2-3): 1179–1184

[19] Jozefaciuk G, Muranyi A, Fenyvesi E. Effect of randomly methylated beta-cyclodextrin on physical properties of soils. Environmental Science & Technology, 2003, 37(13): 3012–3017

[20] Tick G R, Lourenso F, Wood A L, Brusseau M L. Pilot-scale demonstration of cyclodextrin as a solubility-enhancement agent for remediation of a tetrachloroethene-contaminated aquifer. Environmental Science & Technology, 2003, 37(24): 5829–5834

[21] Viglianti C, Hanna K, de Brauer C, Germain P. Removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from aged-contaminated soil using cyclodextrins: experimental study. Environmental Pollution, 2006, 140(3): 427–435

[22] von Wedel R. Cytosol-cleaning oiled shorelines with a vegetable oil biosolvent. Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, 2000, 6(5-6): 357–359

[23] Yap C L, Gan S, Ng H K. Application of vegetable oils in the treatment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-contaminated soils. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2010, 177(1-3): 28–41

[24] Gao S, Wang L, Huang Q, Han S. Solubilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by β-cyclodextrin and carboxymethyl-β-cyclodextrin. Chemosphere, 1998, 37(7): 1299–1305

[25] Ko S, Schlautman M, Carraway E. Partitioning of hydrophobic organic compound to hydroxypropyl-a-cyclodextrin: experimental studies and model predictions for surfactant-enhanced remediation applications. Environmental Science & Technology, 1999, 33(16): 2765–2770

[26] Gómez J, Alcántara M T, Pazos M, Sanromán M A. Remediation of polluted soil by a two-stage treatment system: desorption of phenanthrene in soil and electrochemical treatment to recover the extraction agent. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2010, 173(1-3): 794–798

[27] Alcántara M T, Gómez J, Pazos M, Sanromán M A. PAHs soil decontamination in two steps: desorption and electrochemical treatment. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2009, 166(1): 462–468

[28] Cheng K Y, Wong J W C. Combined effect of nonionic surfactant Tween 80 and DOM on the behaviors of PAHs in soil—water system. Chemosphere, 2006, 62(11): 1907–1916

[29] West C C, Harwell J H. Surfactants and subsurface remediation. Environmental Science & Technology, 1992, 26(12): 2324–2330

[30] McBride M B, Pitiranggon M, Kim B. A comparison of tests for extractable copper and zinc in metal-spiked and field-contaminated soil. Soil Science, 2009, 174(8): 439–444

[31] Oorts K, Bronckaers H, Smolders E. Discrepancy of the microbial response to elevated copper between freshly spiked and long-term contaminated soils. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2006, 25(3): 845–853

[32] Fernández-Álvarez P, Vila J, Garrido J M, Grifoll M, Feijoo G, Lema J M. Evaluation of biodiesel as bioremediation agent for the treatment of the shore affected by the heavy oil spill of the Prestige. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2007, 147(3): 914–922

[33] Juhasz A L, Smith E, Weber J, Naidu R, Rees M, Rofe A, Kuchel T, Sansom L. Effect of soil ageing on in vivo arsenic bioavailability in two dissimilar soils. Chemosphere, 2008, 71(11): 2180–2186

[34] Taylor L T, Jones D M. Bioremediation of coal tar PAH in soils using biodiesel. Chemosphere, 2001, 44(5): 1131–1136

[35] Miller N J, Mudge S M. The effect of biodiesel on the rate of removal and weathering characteristics of crude oilwithin artificial sand columns. Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, 1997, 4(1): 17–33

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg