Amending cultures of selenium-resistant bacteria with dimethyl selenone

A possible biological intermediate in the reduction and methylation of selenium oxyanions, dimethyl selenone, was synthesized, and the first experiments involving the amendment of selenium resistant bacterial cultures with this compound are reported. The amount of volatile, reduced selenium-containing species released from these cultures into the headspace is significantly more than that produced in analogous experiments involving sodium selenate amended cultures. Dimethyl selenone is reduced in the presence of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in a complex growth medium, trypticase soy broth with 0.1% nitrate. This reduction occurs whether or not the reduced sulfur compounds are biologically produced.     

Increase in removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during bioremediation of crude oil-contaminated sandy soil

A 2³ full factorial experimental design was adopted to estimate the effects of three variables on the biodegradation of oil during soil bioremediation: bioaugmentation seeding a mixed culture, addition of fertilizer or mineral media, and correction of initial pH of the soil to 7.0. The tests were carried out in polyvinyl chloride reactors with 5.0 kg of crude oil-contaminated soil at 14 g/kg. After screening the variables, soil bioremediation tests were conduced with varied C:N ratios, yielding an increase in biodegradation of the oil heavy fraction from 24 to 65%, consumption of total n-paraffins, and a remarkable decrease in the concentration of residual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of the soil.     

Bench Scale Studies of the Soil Aeration Process for Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons

An alternative to traditional hydrocarbon bioremediation is to pump air through unsaturated soils to create aerobic conditions and induce biodegradation. This study examines the effects of moisture and nutrient augmentation on biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in aerated soils. Findings indicate that forced aeration, coupled with additions of nutrients and moisture, stimulate hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms and present a feasible approach to bioremediation management.     

Is Genetic Engineering a Route to Enhance Microalgae-Mediated Bioremediation of Heavy Metal-Containing Effluents?

Contamination of the biosphere by heavy metals has been rising, due to accelerated anthropogenic activities, and is nowadays, a matter of serious global concern. Removal of such inorganic pollutants from aquatic environments via biological processes has earned great popularity, for its cost-effectiveness and high efficiency, compared to conventional physicochemical methods. Among candidate organisms, microalgae offer several competitive advantages; phycoremediation has even been claimed as the next generation of wastewater treatment technologies. Furthermore, integration of microalgae-mediated wastewater treatment and bioenergy production adds favorably to the economic feasibility of the former process—with energy security coming along with environmental sustainability. However, poor biomass productivity under abiotic stress conditions has hindered the large-scale deployment of microalgae. Recent advances encompassing molecular tools for genome editing, together with the advent of multiomics technologies and computational approaches, have permitted the design of tailor-made microalgal cell factories, which encompass multiple beneficial traits, while circumventing those associated with the bioaccumulation of unfavorable chemicals. Previous studies unfolded several routes through which genetic engineering-mediated improvements appear feasible (encompassing sequestration/uptake capacity and specificity for heavy metals); they can be categorized as metal transportation, chelation, or biotransformation, with regulation of metal- and oxidative stress response, as well as cell surface engineering playing a crucial role therein. This review covers the state-of-the-art metal stress mitigation mechanisms prevalent in microalgae, and discusses putative and tested metabolic engineering approaches, aimed at further improvement of those biological processes. Finally, current research gaps and future prospects arising from use of transgenic microalgae for heavy metal phycoremediation are reviewed.     

Phylogenetic characterization of a mixed microbial community capable of degrading carbon tetrachloride

Two bacterial communities (NO92 and GBS) capable of degrading carbon tetrachloride (CT) were enriched from in-house CT-contaminated water. These communities are able to degrade CT in the presence of toluene. To characterize the community structure and diversity, one enrichment (NO92) was subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene-based molecular analysis. The 16S rRNA genes were amplified from the bulk genomic community DNA and cloned into plasmid vectors. Unique 16S rRNA gene clones, i.e., phylotypes, were detected by four tetrameric restriction enzymes. Together, 123 16S rRNA gene clones were obtained; thirty-one showed different restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns. About 73% of the clones belong to two dominant RFLP patterns. Phylogenetic analysis based on the partial 16S rRNA gene sequences of 10 major phylotypes showed that all the phylotypes that were sequenced were affiliated with the high G+C Gram-positive bacteria. Whereas seven of the phylotypes (∼80% of the clones) were closely related to Rhodococcus, the other three (∼5% of the clones) were related to Curtobacterium. These results suggest that this CT-degrading community is diverse but is predominated by closely related bacterial groups.     

土壤和沉积物石油污染现状

针对全球石油污染的现状从原油的组成、分类与对环境的潜在影响、原油中有毒有害物质的成分、石油的工业工艺流程等方面进行了论述,并着重分析了中国土壤和沉积物原油污染,对松辽盆地、济阳坳陷、塔里木盆地、渤海油区等区域污染现状作了详细介绍,对石油勘探开发中重要污染源之一——化学助剂造成的污染也作了总括.     

The Role of Biofilm Growth in Bacteria-Facilitated Contaminant Transport in Porous Media

Groundwater contaminants adhered to colloid surfaces may migrate to greater distances than predicted by using the conventional advective-dispersive transport equation. Introduction of exogenous bacteria in a bioremediation operation or mobilization of indigenous bacteria in groundwater aquifers can enhance the transport of contaminants in groundwater by reducing the retardation effects. Because of their colloidal size and favorable surface conditions, bacteria can be efficient contaminant carriers. In cases where contaminants have low mobility because of their high partition with aquifer solids, facilitated contaminant transport by mobile bacteria can create high contaminant fluxes. In this paper, we developed a methodology to describe the bacteria-facilitated contaminant transport in a subsurface environment using the biofilm theory. The model is based on mass balance equations for bacteria and contaminant. The contaminant is utilized as a substrate for bacterial growth. Bacteria are attached to solid surfaces as a biofilm. We investigate the role of the contaminant adsorption on both biofilm and mobile bacteria on groundwater contaminant transport. Also, the effect of bacterial injection on the contaminant transport is evaluated in the presence of indigenous bacteria in porous media. The model was solved numerically and validated by experimental data reported in the literature. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to deduce the effect of critical model parameters. Results show that biofilm grows rapidly near the top of the column where the bacteria and contaminant are injected, and is detached by increasing fluid shear stress and re-attach downstream. The adsorption of contaminant on bacterial surfaces reduces contaminant mobility remarkably in the presence of a biofilm. The contaminant concentration decreases significantly along the biofilm when contaminant partition into bacteria. Bacterial injection and migration in subsurface environments can be important in bioremediation operations regardless of the presence of indigenous bacteria.     

Bioremediation of Aged Petroleum Oil Contaminated Soil: From Laboratory Scale to Full Scale Application

Large quantity of aged petroleum oil contamination such as dehydrated oil sludge, generated in the disposal process of oil-containing sewage in Indonesia. This study aims to investigate the OSCS removal by mean of bioremediation technique. Results found that petrofilic consortia and biosurfactants addition increased the removal efficiency up to 46% and 85%, respectively. At full scale application, this technique succeed in removing of 46 g TPH per kg soil from 4 883 m³ of OSCS during 16 mo of treatment. These results suggest that petrofilic consortia and biosurfactants addition stimulate the biodegradation and overcome the limitation of OSCS degradation process.     

Cadmium recovery by a sulfate-reducing magnetotactic bacterium,Desulfovibrio magneticus RS-1, using magnetic separation

Cadmium recovery by a sulfate-reducing magnetotactic bacterium, Desulfovibrio magneticus strain RS-1, was investigated. D. magneticus precipitated >95% of cadmium at an initial concentration of 1.3 ppm in the growth medium. Electron microscopic analysis revealed that D. magneticus formed electron-dense particles on its surface when cultivated in the presence of cadmium ions (Cd²⁺). Sulfide was also found in the precipitate, and the composition ratio of sulfide/cadmium was 0.7. Sixty percent of viable RS-1 cells was recovered by a simple magnetic separation revealing the removal of 58% cadmium from the culture medium.     

2-D Numerical Modeling of Bioremediation in Heterogeneous Saturated Soils

This paper presents a numerical solution approach for an existing model for simulating transport and biodegradation in saturated porous media. The discrete approximation makes use of an appropriate blending of mixed-hybrid finite-element and shock-capturing finite-volume schemes. The model is applied for simulating enhanced-bioremediation of highly heterogeneous porous media contaminated by organic pollutants. Injection of water enriched in dissolved oxygen (DO) is considered for accelerating contaminant degradation and concentration of both organic pollutant (substrate) and DO. Heterogeneity is found to produce pools of contaminants which strongly affect DO delivery and, then, the degradation of the organic contaminant. A set of numerical results on representative situations illustrates the effectiveness and the robustness of the present approach. The computational efficiency of the present approach is also estimated in terms of CPU costs and memory requirements.