Effect of terminal electron acceptors on the anaerobic biodegradation of PAHs in marine sediments

Jun Mu; Yu Chen; Zhao Song; Mei Liu; Baikang Zhu; Hengcong Tao; Mutai Bao; Qingguo Chen

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129569

Effect of terminal electron acceptors on the anaerobic biodegradation of PAHs in marine sediments

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Sep 15:438:129569. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129569. Epub 2022 Jul 11.

Authors

Jun Mu¹, Yu Chen², Zhao Song², Mei Liu³, Baikang Zhu³, Hengcong Tao³, Mutai Bao⁴, Qingguo Chen⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Marine Science & Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, PR China; College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya 572022, PR China.
² School of Marine Science & Technology, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, PR China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, PR China.
³ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, PR China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, PR, China.
⁵ Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, PR China. Electronic address: qgchen@zjou.edu.cn.

PMID: 35999753
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129569

Abstract

The existing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in marine sediment has become a critical threat to biological security. Terminal electron acceptor (TEA) amendment has been applied as a potential strategy to accelerate bioremediation in sediment. HCO₃^-, NO₃^-, and SO₄^2- were separately added to anaerobic sediment system containing five kinds of PAH, namely, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene. PAH concentration, PAH metabolites, TEA concentration, and electron transport system (ETS) activity were investigated. The HCO₃^- amendment group achieved the max PAH degradation efficiency of 84.98 %. SO₄^2- group led to the highest benzo(a)pyrene removal rate of 69.26 %. NO₃^- had the lowest PAH degradation rate of 76.16 %. ETS activity test showed that NO₃^- significantly inhibited electron transport activity in the sediment. The identified PAH metabolites were the same in each group, including 4,5-dimethylphenanthrene, 3-acetylphenanthrene, 9,10-anthracenedione, pyrene-7-hydroxy-8-carboxylic acid, anthrone, and dibenzothiophene. After 126 d's anaerobic degradation at 25 °C, the utilization of HCO₃^- and SO₄^2- as selected TEAs promoted the PAH biodegradation performance better than the utilization of NO₃^-.

Keywords: Biostimulation; Electron acceptor; PAHs; Petroleum bioremediation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Anaerobiosis
Benzo(a)pyrene
Biodegradation, Environmental
Electrons
Geologic Sediments
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Benzo(a)pyrene