Methyl-β-cyclodextrin enhanced biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and associated microbial activity in contaminated soil
Mingming Sun , Yongming Luo , Peter Christie , Zhongjun Jia , Zhengao Li , Ying Teng
DOI:10.1016/S1001-0742(11)60865-6
Received July 14, 2011,Revised September 05, 2011, Accepted , Available online May 06, 2012
Volume 24,2012,Pages 926-933
The contamination of soils by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a widespread environmental problem and the remediation of PAHs from these areas has been a major concern. The effectiveness of many in situ bioremediation systems may be constrained by low contaminant bioavailability due to limited aqueous solubility or a large magnitude of sorption. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of methyl-β-cyclodextrin (MCD) on bioaugmentation by Paracoccus sp. strain HPD-2 of an aged PAH-contaminated soil. When 10% (W=W) MCD amendment was combined with bioaugmentation by the PAH-degrading bacterium Paracoccus sp. strain HPD-2, the percentage degradation of total PAHs was significantly enhanced up to 34.8%. Higher counts of culturable PAHdegrading bacteria and higher soil dehydrogenase and soil polyphenol oxidase activities were observed in 10% (W=W) MCD-assisted bioaugmentation soil. This MCD-assisted bioaugmentation strategy showed significant increases (p < 0.05) in the average well color development (AWCD) obtained by the BIOLOG Eco plate assay, Shannon-Weaver index (H) and Simpson index (λ) compared with the controls, implying that this strategy at least partially restored the microbiological functioning of the PAH-contaminated soil. The results suggest that MCD-aided bioaugmentation by Paracoccus sp. strain HPD-2 may be a promising practical bioremediation strategy for aged PAH-contaminated soils.
