Complementarity of bio-electrokinetics in the remediation of soil contaminated with multiple hydrocarbons
To evaluate the specific effects of biological degradation and electrochemical oxidation in the removal of different hydrocarbons,the temporal and spatial degradation characteristics of different hydrocarbons and changes of microbial numbers and activity were analyzed.The hydrocarbons,n-hexadecane,cyclododecane,and pyrene,were selected as representative pollutants of alkanes,cyclanes,and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,respectively.Based on the following remediation techniques:electrokinetics(EK),bioremediation(BIO),and bio-electrokinetics(BIO-EK),a remediation platform of a 2-dimensional(2-D) symmetrical electric field was applied,which was inoculated with complex bacterial strains able to degrade various petroleum hydrocarbons.The results demonstrated a significant enhancement in remediation efficiency of BIO-EK than that of BIO or EK alone.An obvious increase in microbial activity and numbers in soil was detected in the BIO-EK test,which enhanced degradation efficiency in different hydrocarbons.It showed a complementarity between biological degradation and electrochemical oxidation in the removal of different hydrocarbons,and n-hexadecane and pyrene decreased more with biological degradation,whereas the cyclododecane decreased more with electrochemical oxidation.In addition,biological degradation was more effective at positions with weaker electric intensity,whereas electrochemical oxidation was more effective at positions with stronger electric intensity.