Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
6306586 Chemosphere 2016 7 Pages PDF
Abstract
Biodegradation of pollutants in soil is greatly limited by the availability of terminal electron acceptors required for supporting microbial respiration. Such limitation can be overcome if soil-buried electrodes accept the electrons released in the microbial metabolism. We propose the term bioelectroventing for such a environmental treatment. The process would be performed in a device so-called Microbial Electroremediating Cell. Indeed, our studies demonstrate that the presence of electrodes as electron acceptors effectively stimulated by 5-fold the biodegradation rate of the herbicide atrazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropyl amino-1,3,5-triazine) in comparison with soil natural attenuation. Furthermore, a different set of toxicological test using Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata green alga e, Salmonella typhimorium bacteria and Sorghum saccharatum plant seeds respectively, confirm that atrazine-polluted soil can be effectively cleaned-up in short time by the use of MERCs.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Environmental Science Environmental Chemistry
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