• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.15 no.4
• /
• pp.13-20
• /
• 2010

The purpose of this study was to develope the remediation method of contaminated soils with metals and petroleum. The diesel degrading strain was isolated and identified from the soil contaminated by petroleum at industrial sites. Diesel biodegradation experiment was performed by diesel degrading bacteria in both solution and soil slurry. Contaminated soils by Zn or As and diesel were treated consecutively by steam-vapor extraction, biodegradation, and acid washing. The strain was identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and named as Pseudomonas aeruginosa TPH1. The optimal culture conditions of TPH1 were $20^{\circ}C$ and pH 7.0, 3% of diesel concentration. Biodegradation of diesel was performed using the separated strain in liquid medium, and 63% of diesel was degraded in 72 hours. And 52% of diesel was removed in the tested soils. In the treatment of contaminated soils with diesel and Zn or As, 29% ~ 44% of diesel was reduced by steamvapor extraction, 60% ~ 71% of diesel was removed after biodegradation. 47% of Zn and 96% of As were removed after acid(mixture of sulfuric and oxalic acids) washing. It is recommended that consecutive treatment method of steam-vapor extraction, biodegradation and acid washing is effective for remediation of complex contaminated soils with metals and petroleum.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.33 no.7
• /
• pp.886-894
• /
• 2023

During the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil, methane (CH₄), a representative greenhouse gas, is emitted as a result of anaerobic metabolism of diesel. The application of methantrophs is one of solutions for the mitigation CH₄ emissions during the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil. In this study, CH₄-oxidizing rhizobacteria, Methylocystis sp. JHTF4 and Methyloversatilis sp. JHM8, were isolated from rhizosphere soils of tall fescue and maize, respectively. The maximum CH₄ oxidation rates for the strains JHTF4 and JHM8 were 65.8 and 33.8 mmol·g-DCW^-1·h^-1, respectively. The isolates JHTF4 and JHM8 couldn't degrade diesel. The inoculation of the isolate JHTF4 or JHM8 significantly enhanced diesel removal during rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil planted with maize for 63 days. Diesel removal in the tall fescue-planting soil was enhanced by inoculating the isolates until 50 days, while there was no significant difference in removal efficiency regardless of inoculation at day 63. In both the maize and tall fescue planting soils, the CH₄ oxidation potentials of the inoculated soils were significantly higher than the potentials of the non-inoculated soils. In addition, the gene copy numbers of pmoA, responsible for CH₄ oxidation, in the inoculated soils were significantly higher than those in the non-inoculated soils. The gene copy numbers ratio of pmoA to 16S rDNA (the ratio of methanotrophs to total bacteria) in soil increased during rhizoremediation. These results indicate that the inoculation of Methylocystis sp. JHTF4 and Methyloversatilis sp. JHM8, is a promising strategy to minimize CH₄ emissions during the rhizoremediation of diesel-contaminated soil using maize or tall fescue.

• Environmental Engineering Research
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.37-45
• /
• 2007

Phytoremediation has been used effectively for the biodegradation of oil-based contaminants, including diesel, by the stimulation of soil microbes near plant roots (rhizosphere). However, the technique has rarely been assessed for itsinfluence on soil microbial properties such as population, community structure, and diversity. In this study, the removal efficiency and characteristics of rhizobacteria for phytoremediation of diesel-contaminated soils were assessed using barnyard grass (Echinochloa crusgalli). The concentration of spiked diesel for treatments was around $6000\;mg\;kg^{-1}$. Diesel removal efficiencies reached 100% in rhizosphere soils, 76% in planted bulk soils, and 62% in unplanted bulk soils after 3weeks stabilization and 2 months growth(control, no microbial activity: 32%). The highest populations of culturable soil bacteria ($5.89{\times}10^8$ per g soil) and culturable hydrocarbon-degraders($5.65{\times}10^6$ per g soil) were found in diesel-contaminated rhizosphere soil, also yielding the highest microbial dehydrogenase. This suggests that the populations of soil bacteria, including hydrocarbon-degraders, were significantly increased by a synergistic rhizosphere + diesel effect. The diesel treatment alone resulted in negative population growth. In addition, we investigated the bacterial community structures of each soil sample based on DGGE (Denaturing Gel Gradient Electrophoresis) band patterns. Bacterial community structure was most influenced by the presence of diesel contamination (76.92% dissimilarity to the control) and by a diesel + rhizosphere treatment (65.62% dissimilarity), and least influenced by the rhizosphere treatment alone (48.15% dissimilarity). Based on the number of distinct DGGE bands, the bacterial diversity decreased with diesel treatment, but kept constant in the rhizosphere treatment. The rhizosphere thus positively influenced bacterial population density in diesel-contaminated soil, resulting in high removal efficiency of diesel.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.10-16
• /
• 2011

The experimental studies for remediation of diesel contaminated soils were performed using subcritical water in laboratory scale. Contaminated soils from industrial area and artificially contaminated soils were utilized for soil remediation. Experimental system was composed for subcritical water to flow upward through the soil packed column for extracting contaminants. 10 g of contaminated soil was packed into the column and water flow rate was 2 mL/min. To evaluate the effects of temperature, pressure and treatment time on the removal efficiency, temperature was changed from 100$^{\circ}C$ to 350$^{\circ}C$, pressure from 50 bar to 220 bar and treatment time at the predetermined temperature from 0 min to 120 min. The purification efficiency increased as temperature increased. However, the effect of pressure and treatment time was low. Temperature 250$^{\circ}C$, pressure 50 bar and treatment time 30 min were selected for optimal operating condition for this study.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.17 no.5
• /
• pp.479-484
• /
• 2008

The application of microwave technology has been investigated in the remediation of diesel-contaminated soil. The paper deals with economic assessment by means of cost analysis and degradation characteristics at different microwave powers for total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) in diesel contaminated soils. The soils from S Mountain around the D University were sampled. The samples were screened with 2.0 mm mesh and dried for 6 hours before the diesel was added into the dried soils. The diesel-contaminated soil (3,300 mg THP/kg soil) was prepared with diesel (S Co.). The drying process was carried out in a microwave oven, a standard household appliance with a 2,450 MHz frequency and 700 W of power. The experiments were conducted from 0 to 20 minutes as the microwave powers increased from 350W to 500W to 700W. The concentrations of TPH were analysed using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). The initial concentration of TPH was 3,300 mg TPH/kg soil. The weight of contaminated soil was 200g. The concentration of TPH was decreased to 1,828 mg TPH/kg soil (44.7%), 1,347 mg TPH/kg soil (59.2%) and 1,014 mg TPH/kg soil (69.3%) at 350W, 500W and 700W for 15 minutes respectively. In addition, the curve was best fit with first order kinetics using the least-square method. The ranges of a first order rate constant k and r-square were $0.0298{\sim}0.0375min^{-1}$ and $0.9373{\sim}0.9541$ respectively.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2004

A cold mix asphalt (CMA) treatment process was proposed as a tool to recycle soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Experimental studies were conducted to characterize performances of the CMA process in treating soils contaminated with diesel or diesel compounds. From the screening experiments, it was found that performances of five types of asphalt emulsions that contained a cationic or an anionic or a nonionic surfactant were not substantially different. In consideration of higher affinity for soils and higher sorption coefficients obtained, an emulsion containing Lauryl Dimethyl Benzyl Ammonium Chloride (LDBAC) was selected as a promising asphalt emulsion for treating diesel-contaminated soils. When the asphalt emulsion LDBAC was applied to treat three compounds that originated from diesel, the removal efficiencies obtained in the order of decreasing efficiencies were as follows: docosane > pentadecane > undecane. Leaching experiments on the specimen formulated by the emulsion LDBAC found that the selected treatment method could treat soils with diesel concentrations as high as 10,000 mg/kg. Leaching of the diesel from the specimen was controlled by diffusion for the first four days and then leaching rate diminished substantially. The latter behavior was characterized as depletion, which represents that the contaminant released amounts to more than $50\%$ of the total amount of the contaminant that can be leached. The amounts of three diesel compounds leached from the specimen in the order of decreasing amount were undecane, pentadecane, and docosane. The curing of the soil contaminated with pentadecane was relatively slow.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
• /
• 2000.11a
• /
• pp.401-406
• /
• 2000

Spilling of petroleum hydrocarbons such as gasoline, motor oils, and diesel fuel from underground storage tanks (USTs) is a major source of contamination to ground water and soils. In response to the need of developing an effective and economical cleanup technique, this study investigates the effectiveness of using sonication to enhance the soil flushing method. The study involves laboratory testing, and the testing was conducted using a specially designed and fabricated device to determine the effect of sonication on contaminant removal. The sonication was applied at 20 kHz frequency under different power levels. Test soil was Joomoonjin Sand, and diesel fuel was used as a contaminant of soil flushing test. The results of the investigation show that sonication enhanced the contaminant removal from soils significantly, and the degree of enhancement varied with power levels of sonication. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that the flushing method with sonication has a great potential to become an effective method for removing petroleum hydrocarbons from the contaminated ground.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.704-715
• /
• 2006

Oil spill was found in 1999 from a diesel storage facility located near the top of Baekun Mountain in Uiwang City. Application of bioremediation techniques was very relevant in removing oil spills in this site, because the geological condition was not amenable for other onsite remediation techniques. For efficient bioremediation, bacterial communities of the contaminated site and the uncontaminated control site were compared using both molecular and cultivation techniques. Soil bacterial populations were observed to be stimulated to grow in the soils contaminated with diesel hydrocarbon, whereas fungal and actinomycetes populations were decreased by diesel contamination. Most of the dieseldegrading bacteria isolated from contaminated forest soils were strains of Pseudomonas, Ralstonia, and Rhodococcus species. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis revealed that the profiles were different among the three contaminated sites, whereas those of the control sites were identical to each other. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequences of dominant isolates and clones showed that the bacterial community was less diverse in the oil-contaminated site than at the control site. Sequence analysis of the alkane hydroxylase genes cloned from soil microbial DNAs indicated that their diversity and distribution were different between the contaminated site and the control site. The results indicated that diesel contamination exerted a strong selection on the indigenous microbial community in the contaminated site, leading to predominance of well-adapted microorganisms in concurrence with decrease of microbial diversity.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
• /
• v.4 no.2
• /
• pp.127-136
• /
• 1999

In the past several years phytoremediation, defined as the use of plants for removing contaminants from media such as soils or water, has attracted a great deal of interest as a potentially useful remediation technology We attempted to assess the effectiveness of phytoremediation of diesel-contaminated soils in a green house. Screening test for selecting an appropriate plant was performed by observing the harmful effects of diesel dosage on the growth of 4 plants. Alfalfa was selected as a potentially useful plant among corn and barnyard grasses due to its high tolerance to the toxicity of diesel in growth. Bioremediation of the artificial diesel-contaminated soil packed in the PVC columns(0.3m in diameter $\times$ 1m in length) with air supplied, alfalfa planted, and alfalfa and air supplied was investigated for 100 days. The results of the column test showed plant effects on enhancing the biodegradation of diesel in the contaminated soils compared to the control column which had no plant. Injecting air to the columns during phytoremediation also showed additional effects on the removal rate of diesel. Comparison of microbial activity in each test column showed a beneficial effect of plants in the soil remediation processes. This results can be explained microbial activity in rhizosphere is a crucial factor for removing diesel.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.413-424
• /
• 2021

In order to enhance rhizoremediation performance, which remediates contaminated soils using the interactions between plants and microorganisms in rhizosphere, it is required to develop effective microbial resources that simultaneously degrade contaminants and promote plant growth. In this study, heavy metal-resistant rhizobacteria, which had been cultivated in soils contaminated with heavy metals (copper, cadmium, and lead) and diesel were isolated from rhizospheres of maize and tall fescue. After that, the isolates were qualitatively evaluated for plant growth promoting (PGP) activities, heavy metal tolerance, and diesel degradability. As a result, six strains with heavy metal tolerance, PGP activities, and diesel degradability were isolated. Strains CuM5 and CdM2 were isolated from the rhizosphere soils of maize, and were identified as belonging to the genus Cupriavidus. From the rhizosphere soils of tall fescue, strains CuT6, CdT2, CdT5, and PbT3 were isolated and were identified as Fulvimonas soli, Cupriavidus sp., Novosphingobium sp., and Bacillus sp., respectively. Cupriavidus sp. CuM5 and CdM2 showed a low heavy metal tolerance and diesel degradability, but exhibited an excellent PGP ability. Among the six isolates, Cupriavidus sp. CdT2 and Bacillus sp. PbT3 showed the best diesel degradability. Additionally, Bacillus sp. PbT3 also exhibited excellent heavy metal tolerance and PGP abilities. These results indicate that the isolates can be used as promising microbial resources to promote plant growth and restore soils with contaminated heavy metals and diesel.