ELECTROBIOREMEDIATION OF PATAGONIAN SOILS WITH OIL HYDROCARBONS CONTAMINATED

ROMINA DIAZ; ADRIAN ACUÑA; GRACIELA PUCCI

Los Cocos

Congreso; XVIII Congreso Argentino de Microbiología General-SAMIGE; 2022

Sociedad Argentina de Microbiología General (SAMIGE)

Electrobioremediation (EKB) is a technique that is used for the remediation of hydrocarboncontaminated soils. EKB uses bioremediation to degrade hydrocarbon contaminants andelectrokinetic (EK) to mobilize them. EK mobilization of the hydrocarbon products increases theirbioavailability, thereby facilitating bioremediation. Although EK is commonly used in the remediationof several inorganic contaminants, it has also been successfully applied to the remediation of severalsoluble organic contaminants, such as phenanthrene, benzene, toluene, and phenol. The aim of thisstudy is to explore the use of electrobioremediation in hydrocarbon contaminated and unsaturatedsoil, the product of the oil industry activity from the Vaca Muerta oil field, Neuquén province, and toevaluate the possible improvement in hydrocarbon removal. The sample was put in anelectrobioremediation glass cell of 29 cm long. A potential difference of 0.5 V cm-1 was applied tothe electrobioremediation cells for 60 days with rotation of polarity every 4 days to maintain the pHat optimal ranges. A second cell was used for control and no current was applied to it. Themonitoring was carried out by a bacterial count and measuring C5 to C35 through gaschromatography (GC) and pH. The results show that this technology has good potential to increasethe degradation of hydrocarbons which could not be degraded by soil microorganisms in the sameamount without the application of electric current. Total hydrocarbons decreased from 3.2 % tovalues of 1.68 % and this modified the percentages of aliphatic, aromatic, and polar hydrocarbons.The pH changed from 6.84 to 6.75 on the cathode and anode, respectively; both values arecompatible with the degrading bacterial community, which does not produce changes in theircolony-forming number. On the cathode, there was an increase in the percentage of Gram-positivebacteria such as Kocuria rhizophila, Arthrobacter globiformis, Microbacterium liquefaciens,Brevibacillus choshinensis, Arthrobacter agilis, and many others.