Bioavailability Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Soil Research Articles

Predicting the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rhizosphere soil using a new novel in situ solid-phase microextraction technique

In situ measurement of the bioavailability of organic pollutants in soil is crucial for understanding their environmental behavior and assessing health risks. Due to the high heterogeneity of soil, microscale determination is crucial for achieving high accuracy, but few methods are available. In this study, microsized probes coated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were used to measure the bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil in situ. The concentrations of PAHs enriched by the PDMS-coated probes correlated well with the results of bioassays using earthworms (R2 = 0.92–0.99) and ryegrass roots (R2 = 0.92–0.99). Compared with other chemical extraction methods, such as n-butanol extraction, the proposed method has advantages such as in situ operation, microvolume analysis, and negligible interference to the soil environment. In the soil rhizosphere zone, PAHs bioavailability decreased in the following order: rhizosphere > near-rhizosphere > far-rhizosphere. The bioavailability of PAHs in soil amended with biochar was also successfully characterized by the proposed method. Thus, this study developed an in situ and microscale method to predict the bioavailability of organic pollutants in contaminated soils and provides new insight into migration and transformation processes in rhizosphere soil.

Enhancing plant-microbe associated bioremediation of phenanthrene and pyrene contaminated soil by SDBS-Tween 80 mixed surfactants

The use of surfactants to enhance plant-microbe associated dissipation in soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a promising bioremediation technology. This comparative study was conducted on the effects of plant-microbe treatment on the removal of phenanthrene and pyrene from contaminated soil, in the presence of low concentration single anionic, nonionic and anionic-nonionic mixed surfactants. Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and Tween 80 were chosen as representative anionic and nonionic surfactants, respectively. We found that mixed surfactants with concentrations less than 150 mg/kg were more effective in promoting plant-microbe associated bioremediation than the same amount of single surfactants. Only about (m/m) of mixed surfactants was needed to remove the same amount of phenanthrene and pyrene from either the planted or unplanted soils, when compared to Tween 80. Mixed surfactants (< 150 mg/kg) better enhanced the degradation efficiency of phenanthrene and pyrene via microbe or plant-microbe routes in the soils. In the concentration range of 60–150 mg/kg, both ryegrass roots and shoots could accumulate 2–3 times the phenanthrene and pyrene with mixed surfactants than with Tween 80. These results may be explained by the lower sorption loss and reduced interfacial tension of mixed surfactants relative to Tween 80, which enhanced the bioavailability of PAHs in soil and the microbial degradation efficiency. The higher remediation efficiency of low dosage SDBS-Tween 80 mixed surfactants thus advanced the technology of surfactant-enhanced plant-microbe associated bioremediation.

Comparative studies of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and octadecyl (C18) as sorbents in passive sampling devices for biomimetic uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from soils

To avoid overestimating the risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), research is needed to evaluate the bioavailable portion of PAHs in the environment. However, limited PSDs were developed for a terrestrial soil system. In this study, two sorbents, octadecyl (C18) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), were individually evaluated as sorbents in passive sampling devices (PSDs) as biomimetic samplers to assess the uptake of PAHs from soil. C18-PSDs were an excellent biomimetic tool for PAHs with a low molecular weight in complex exposure conditions with different soil types, types of PAHs, aging periods, and initial PAH concentrations in soil. The utility of MWNT-PSDs was limited by extraction efficiencies of PAHs from MWNTs. However, when compared to C18-PSDs, they had higher adsorption capacities and were less expensive. This study provides data regarding useful techniques that can be used in risk assessment to assess the bioavailability of PAHs in soil.

Mild extractability and bioavailability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil

AbstractA study was conducted to determine the relationship between bioavailability of unaged and aged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soil and the amounts detected by mild solvent extraction. More aged than unaged anthracene remained in Lima loam following introduction of earthworms (Eisenia foetida), a mixed culture containing anthracene‐degrading microorganisms, or earthworms or wheat after bacterial biodegradation of the compound. Aging decreased the percentage of anthracene recovered by mild extraction with n‐butanol from soil following introduction of earthworms, growth of wheat, biodegradation by bacteria, or when maintained sterile. Biodegradation resulted in a marked decrease in the percentage of aged and unaged anthracene recovered from soil by mild extraction with n‐butanol or ethyl acetate. Aging of fluoranthene and pyrene decreased the amount removed by mild extraction with n‐butanol, ethyl acetate, and propanol. The uptake of aged and unaged anthracene, fluoranthene, and pyrene by earthworms was correlated with the amounts recovered from soil by mild extraction with n‐butanol, propanol, and ethyl acetate (r values in the range 0.911–0.992). The retention of aged and unaged anthracene by wheat and barley was correlated with the amounts recovered from soil by the same procedure (r values in the range 0.892–0.945). We suggest that mild extraction with organic solvents can be used to predict the bioavailability of PAHs in soil.