Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane (DDT) Insecticide Polluted Soil Remediation by Bacteria Consortium with Co-Substrate Utilization

Abstract

Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane (DDT) is an organochlorine insecticide that are largely used on agriculture and health sectors. DDT is an organic pollutant that are difficult to be dissolved and tend to survive in the environment for a long time because it is highly stable and persistent. DDT insecticide residue is still discovered in the soil even though its utilization has been stopped years ago and still negatively impacting human life and the environment through bio accumulation and bio magnification. Bioremediation is a potential method to remove recalcitrance compound such as DDT. The objective of this study is to gather and analyze information on DDT degradation by bacteria consortium with co-substrate addition. Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas stutzeri bacteria consortium were utilized to remediate DDT with glucose, sucrose, and yeast extract as cosubstrates. During 72 hours of observation, the three co-substrates namely yeast extract, glucose, and sucrose are able to degrade 75%, 56% and 39.55% of 10 ppm DDT. Yeast is the most ideal co-substrate to assist bacteria consortium growth and to degrade DDT. The implementation of pilot scale land treatment bioremediation is planned to be at 50m3, with dimension of 20m length, 5m wide, and 0.5m high. The efficiency of the removal reached 90% with 67 hours of detention time.