Potential microbial remediation of pyrene polluted soil: the role of biochar
Lea Piscitelli
A B D , Anna Daniela Malerba B , Giuseppe Natale Mezzapesa A , Stefano Dumontet C , Donato Mondelli B , Teodoro Miano B and Giovanni Luigi Bruno B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A C.I.H.E.A.M. Bari, Italy.
B Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo della Pianta e degli Alimenti (Di.S.S.P.A.), Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
C Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie, Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope, Napoli, Italy.
D Corresponding author. Email: piscitelli@iamb.it
Soil Research 57(8) 807-813 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR19075
Submitted: 2 April 2019 Accepted: 20 July 2019 Published: 2 October 2019
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of compounds composed of two or more aromatic rings. They are extremely toxic pollutants largely produced by anthropogenic activities and characterised by high persistence in the environment. Soils contaminated by PAHs could be depolluted by bioremediation techniques, an effective in-situ procedure which provides the addition of exogenous substrates able to sustain and enhance the autochthonous soil microflora and the allochthon microbial inoculum. Our research aims to study the effects of biochar, produced by slow pyrolysis of olive pomace, as a bio-stimulant of soil microflora or support for the colonisation of the allochthon Trichoderma harzianum, on degradation of pyrene used here as model molecule for the PAH family. Biochar is considered an excellent soil conditioner because of its positive effect on soil physical and chemical properties and its positive interaction with soil microorganisms. Autochthonous microbial growth, T. harzianum growth and microbial pyrene-degradation activity were surveyed in soil samples spiked with 50 ppm of pyrene and incubated for up to 28 days. Pyrene concentration was reduced by ~70% in 28 days in both bioaugmentation and biostimulation tests. Olive mill pomace biochar did not interfere with pyrene bioavailability and did not affect microbial pyrene-degrading activity. The T. harzianum did not display a distinctive ability in degrading pyrene and partially inhibited the endogenous soil microflora.
Additional keywords: bioaugmentation, biostimulation, olive pomace biochar, pyrene, soil remediation.
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