Synergistic effects of bioremediation and elctrokinetics in the remadiation of petroleum-contaminated soil

“The present study evaluated the coupling interactions between bioremediation (BIO) and electrokinetics
(EK) in the remediation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) by using bio-electrokinetics (BIO–EK)
with a rotatory 2-D electric field. The results demonstrated an obvious positive correlation between
the degradation extents of TPH and electric intensity both in the EK and BIO–EK tests. The use of BIO–
EK showed a significant improvement in degradation of TPH as compared to BIO or EK alone. The actual
degradation curve in BIO–EK tests fitted well with the simulated curve obtained by combining the degradation
curves in BIO- and EK-only tests during the first 60 d, indicating a superimposed effect of biological
degradation and electrochemical stimulation. The synergistic effect was particularly expressed
during the later phase of the experiment, concurrent with changes in the microbial community structure.
The community composition changed mainly according to the duration of the electric field, leading to a
reduction in diversity. No significant spatial shifts in microbial community composition and bacterial
numbers were detected among different sampling positions. Soil pH was uniform during the experimental
process, soil temperature showed no variations between the soil chambers with and without an electric
field.”

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(Citaat: Guo, S., Fan, R., et al. – Synergistic effects of bioremediation and elctrokinetics in the remadiation of petroleumcontaminated soil – Chemosphere 109(2014), p.226-233)