Ethanol-enhanced bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils

Bioremediation of soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is highly challenging because of the low solubility and strong sorption properties of PAHs to soil organic matter. Two PAH-contaminated soils from former manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites were pretreated with ethanol to enhance the bioavailability of PAH compounds. The biodegradation of various PAHs in the pretreated soils was assessed using soil slurry reactor studies. The time needed to degrade 90% of the total PAH in the pretreated soils was at least 5 days faster than soils that were not pretreated with ethanol. A distinctive advantage with the pretreatment of soils with ethanol was the enhanced removal of 4-ring compounds such as chrysene. Approximately 90% of chrysene in the ethanol-treated soils were removed within 15 days while soils without pretreatment needed more than 30 days to obtain similar removal levels. After 35 days of biotreatment in the slurry reactors, approximately 40% of benzo(a)pyrene were removed in the ethanol-treated soils while only 20% were removed in soils not pretreated with ethanol.