Bioremediation of Agriculture Soil Contaminated by Organic Pollutants

Abstract

Pipeline spills and pollution of the environment by crude oil pose a threat to natural resources, especially soil and water. One such incident occurred on 25 September 2018 in the area of Budrovac (Croatia; 46°00′14.6″ N 17°04′16.8″ E) on agricultural land as a pipeline spill. Bioremediation of the contaminated soil was carried out with organic pollutants using an environmentally safe absorbent Spill-Sorb (Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss) and a mineral fertilizer—nitrogen. The experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Croatia, during a six-month (October 2018–April 2019) study. Samples of agricultural soils contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were taken after the rupture of the local gas condensate pipeline. The experiment was conducted in five treatments in triplicate: I-control (clean soil); II-100% contaminated soil + organic absorbent + nitrogen; III-100% contaminated soil + organic absorbent; IV-50% clean soil + 50% contaminated soil + organic absorbent + nitrogen; and V-50% clean soil + 50% contaminated soil + organic absorbent. The soil properties studied were pH, organic matter content, carbon and nitrogen content and ratio, and changes in the concentration of potential organic contaminants—TPHs and individual PAHs. The results demonstrated that the mixture of organic absorbent and nitrogen efficiently removed organic pollutants from the contaminated soil within six months. However, the application of Spill-Sorb alone was more effective for the degradation of hydrocarbons. The effectiveness of the absorbent studied was dependent on the concentration of organic pollutants and nitrogen application.

The function of microbial enzymes in breaking down soil contaminated with pesticides: a review

“…Numerous enzymes derived from bacteria and fungi have been identified as playing a significant role in the bioremediation of pesticides in soil [ 33 , 34 ] and discussed in the previous section. It has been claimed that using isolated enzymes has more benefits than using microbial whole cell, including greater specificity, standardizable activity, more convenient in handling and storage, greater mobility because of the smaller size of enzyme, ability to function in the presence of high concentrations of toxic compounds, and biodegradability that prevents persistence and recalcitrance [ 33 , 34 , 67 ]. Significantly, employing enzymes for environmental cleanup facilitates the rapid breakdown of pollutants through various reactions, yielding non-corrosive, non-flammable byproducts that can be safely and easily disposed of [ 29 ].…”

“…The intricately folded structures of the enzyme easily unravel into non-functional amino acid chains or globules once the enzyme is removed from ideal biological conditions of the cell, causing the loss of enzymatic activity [ 21 ]. Immobilization has been demonstrated to minimize the decline in enzyme activity, thereby enhancing enzyme stability and longevity [ 67 ]. However, not all pesticide-metabolizing enzymes can be immobilized on solid support [ 19 , 27 , 33 ].…”

“…However, not all pesticide-metabolizing enzymes can be immobilized on solid support [ 19 , 27 , 33 ]. Alternative options for enhancement include enzyme encapsulation technology [ 19 , 33 , 67 ]. As an example, PTE-filled outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) with a protein-decorated lipid bilayer provide cargo proteins with protection against environmental nucleases and proteases [ 21 ].…”

Bioremediation approaches for oil contaminated soils in extremely high-mountainous conditions

“…Bioremediation techniques also increased soil organic carbon, which shown in Table 2. It is noted that in bioremediation treatment the increase in soil organic carbon is determined by microbial activity and its mineralisation (Kisić et al 2022).…”

Anthropogenic Transformation of the River Basins of the Northwestern Slope of the Crimean Mountains (The Crimean Peninsula)

“…More and more attention is being paid to this issue in the world. Various characteristics of anthropogenic impact are studied: microplastic pollution [3,4], pesticide pollution [5,6], oil pollution [7,8], heavy metal pollution [9,10], and land cover change [11,12]. At the same time, some authors suggest using various indicators for a comprehensive assessment of anthropogenic transformation [13][14][15][16][17].…”