Influence of nonionic surfactant on the solubilization and biodegradation of phenanthrene

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Yang, Jian-gang | Liu, Xiang | Long, Tao | Yu, Gang | Peng, She | Zheng, Liu

Affiliations: Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China | Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Abstract: Phenanthrene was solubilized in two different nonionic surfactants, Tween80 and Triton X-100. The bioavailability of phenanthrene to the bacteria isolated from the petroleum contaminated soils was studied based on the rotary flasks experiments. The results showed that the concentration of nonionic surfactants above the critical micelle concentration (CMC) can increase the solubility of phenanthrene in water and were innoxious to the phenanthrene-degrading bacteria; phenanthrene solubilized in the micelles of Tween80 was bioavailable and biodegradable. The research demonstrated the potential of surfactant-enhanced bioremediation of soils contaminated by hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs).

Keywords: biodegradation, solubilization, phenanthrene, nonionic surfactant

Journal: Journal of Environmental Sciences, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 859-862, 2003