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Role of biochar in biodegradation of nonylphenol in sediment: Increasing microbial activity versus decreasing bioavailability.

ABSTRACT: The observed strong sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) to biochar presents potential implications for HOCs bioavailability and bioaccessibility in sediments, while biochar could impact sediment microbial ecology. However, the comprehensive study on the effects of biochar on HOC biodegradation coupled with bioavailability and microbial ecology are rarely documented. In this paper, the effects of biochar on the biodegradation of nonylphenol (NP) were investigated using 3 different NP concentrations (20, 50 and 500?mg/Kg) in sediments amended with different percentage of rice straw biochar (RC). Results showed that the influence of RC on NP biodegradation varied with different NP concentrations. At low NP concentrations, RC suppressed NP biodegradation by reducing NP bioavailability, while at high NP concentrations, moderate RC addition promoted biodegradation by reducing toxicity of NP to microbes. The effects of NP on microbial community structures were significant (P??0.05). The RC affected microorganisms through altering NP toxicity, microbial quantity and activity, but not microbial community structures. This study indicated that there could be an optimal biochar percentage in biochar-sediment systems at different HOC concentrations, which strengthened HOC biodegradation process and accelerated biodegradation rate, forming adsorption-biodegradation coupled bioremediation.

SUBMITTER: Cheng G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5498626 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Role of biochar in biodegradation of nonylphenol in sediment: Increasing microbial activity versus decreasing bioavailability.

Cheng Guanghuan G Sun Mingyang M Lu Jingrang J Ge Xinlei X Zhang Huihui H Xu Xinhua X Lou Liping L Lin Qi Q

Scientific reports 20170705 1

The observed strong sorption of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs) to biochar presents potential implications for HOCs bioavailability and bioaccessibility in sediments, while biochar could impact sediment microbial ecology. However, the comprehensive study on the effects of biochar on HOC biodegradation coupled with bioavailability and microbial ecology are rarely documented. In this paper, the effects of biochar on the biodegradation of nonylphenol (NP) were investigated using 3 different ...[more]

PMID: 28680053

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Project description:Aromatic hydrocarbons belong to the most abundant contaminants in groundwater systems. They can serve as carbon and energy source for a multitude of indigenous microorganisms. Predictions of contaminant biodegradation and microbial growth in contaminated aquifers are often vague because the parameters of microbial activity in the mathematical models used for predictions are typically derived from batch experiments, which don't represent conditions in the field. In order to improve our understanding of key drivers of natural attenuation and the accuracy of predictive models, we conducted comparative experiments in batch and sediment flow-through systems with varying concentrations of contaminant in the inflow and flow velocities applying the aerobic Pseudomonas putida strain F1 and the denitrifying Aromatoleum aromaticum strain EbN1. We followed toluene degradation and bacterial growth by measuring toluene and oxygen concentrations and by direct cell counts. In the sediment columns, the total amount of toluene degraded by P. putida F1 increased with increasing source concentration and flow velocity, while toluene removal efficiency gradually decreased. Results point at mass transfer limitation being an important process controlling toluene biodegradation that cannot be assessed with batch experiments. We also observed a decrease in the maximum specific growth rate with increasing source concentration and flow velocity. At low toluene concentrations, the efficiencies in carbon assimilation within the flow-through systems exceeded those in the batch systems. In all column experiments the number of attached cells plateaued after an initial growth phase indicating a specific "carrying capacity" depending on contaminant concentration and flow velocity. Moreover, in all cases, cells attached to the sediment dominated over those in suspension, and toluene degradation was performed practically by attached cells only. The observed effects of varying contaminant inflow concentration and flow velocity on biodegradation could be captured by a reactive-transport model. By monitoring both attached and suspended cells we could quantify the release of new-grown cells from the sediments to the mobile aqueous phase. Studying flow velocity and contaminant concentrations as key drivers of contaminant transformation in sediment flow-through microcosms improves our system understanding and eventually the prediction of microbial biodegradation at contaminated sites.

Dataset Information

Role of biochar in biodegradation of nonylphenol in sediment: Increasing microbial activity versus decreasing bioavailability.

Publications

Role of biochar in biodegradation of nonylphenol in sediment: Increasing microbial activity versus decreasing bioavailability.

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