| Title | The "Oil-Spill Snorkel": an innovative bioelectrochemical approach to accelerate hydrocarbons biodegradation in marine sediments |
| Abstract | This study presents the proof-of-concept of the "Oil-Spill Snorkel": a novel bioelectrochemical approach to stimulate the oxidative biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments. The "Oil-Spill Snorkel" consists of a single conductive material (the snorkel) positioned suitably to create an electrochemical connection between the anoxic zone (the contaminated sediment) and the oxic zone (the overlying O2-containing water). The segment of the electrode buried within the sediment plays a role of anode, accepting electrons deriving from the oxidation of contaminants. Electrons flow through the snorkel up to the part exposed to the aerobic environment (the cathode), where they reduce oxygen to form water. Here we report the results of lab-scale microcosms setup with marine sediments and spiked with crude oil. Microcosms containing one or three graphite snorkels and controls (snorkel-free and autoclaved) were monitored for over 400 days. Collectively, the results of this study confirmed that the snorkels accelerate oxidative reactions taking place within the sediment, as documented by a significant 1.7-fold increase (p = 0.023, two-tailed t-test) in the cumulative oxygen uptake and 1.4-fold increase (p = 0.040) in the cumulative CO2 evolution in the microcosms containing three snorkels compared to snorkel-free controls. Accordingly, the initial rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) degradation was also substantially enhanced. Indeed, while after 200 days of incubation a negligible degradation of TPH was noticed in snorkel-free controls, a significant reduction of 12 ± 1% (p = 0.004) and 21 ± 1% (p = 0.001) was
observed in microcosms containing one and three snorkels, respectively. Although, the "Oil-Spill Snorkel" potentially represents a groundbreaking alternative to more expensive remediation options, further research efforts are needed to clarify factors and
conditions affecting the snorkel-driven biodegradation processes and to identify suitable configurations for field applications. |
| Source | Frontiers in microbiology 6, pp. 881 |
| Keywords | anoxic marine sedimentsbioelectrochemical systemscrude oil pollutionin situ bioremediationoil-spill snorkel |
| Journal | Frontiers in microbiology |
| Editor | Frontiers Research Foundation,, Lausanne, Svizzera |
| Year | 2015 |
| Type | Articolo in rivista |
| DOI | 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00881 |
| Authors | C.C. Viggi, E. Presta, M. Bellagamba, S. Kaciulis, S.K. Balijepalli, G. Zanaroli, M. Pertangeli Papini, S. Rossetti, F. Aulenta |
| Text | 333585 2015 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00881 Scopus 2 s2.0 84949634443 ISI Web of Science WOS WOS 000360626700001 anoxic marine sediments bioelectrochemical systems crude oil pollution in situ bioremediation oil spill snorkel The Oil Spill Snorkel an innovative bioelectrochemical approach to accelerate hydrocarbons biodegradation in marine sediments C.C. Viggi, E. Presta, M. Bellagamba, S. Kaciulis, S.K. Balijepalli, G. Zanaroli, M. Pertangeli Papini, S. Rossetti, F. Aulenta Water Research Institute, National Research Council, Rome, Italy, Institute for the Study of Nanostructured Materials, National Research Council, Rome, Italy, Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering, University of Bologna,Bologna,Italy, Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy This study presents the proof of concept of the Oil Spill Snorkel a novel bioelectrochemical approach to stimulate the oxidative biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments. The Oil Spill Snorkel consists of a single conductive material the snorkel positioned suitably to create an electrochemical connection between the anoxic zone the contaminated sediment and the oxic zone the overlying O2 containing water . The segment of the electrode buried within the sediment plays a role of anode, accepting electrons deriving from the oxidation of contaminants. Electrons flow through the snorkel up to the part exposed to the aerobic environment the cathode , where they reduce oxygen to form water. Here we report the results of lab scale microcosms setup with marine sediments and spiked with crude oil. Microcosms containing one or three graphite snorkels and controls snorkel free and autoclaved were monitored for over 400 days. Collectively, the results of this study confirmed that the snorkels accelerate oxidative reactions taking place within the sediment, as documented by a significant 1.7 fold increase p = 0.023, two tailed t test in the cumulative oxygen uptake and 1.4 fold increase p = 0.040 in the cumulative CO2 evolution in the microcosms containing three snorkels compared to snorkel free controls. Accordingly, the initial rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons TPH degradation was also substantially enhanced. Indeed, while after 200 days of incubation a negligible degradation of TPH was noticed in snorkel free controls, a significant reduction of 12 ± 1% p = 0.004 and 21 ± 1% p = 0.001 was observed in microcosms containing one and three snorkels, respectively. Although, the Oil Spill Snorkel potentially represents a groundbreaking alternative to more expensive remediation options, further research efforts are needed to clarify factors and conditions affecting the snorkel driven biodegradation processes and to identify suitable configurations for field applications. 6 Published version http //journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00881/ The Oil Spill Snorkel an innovative bioelectrochemical approach... paper snorkel_frontmicrobiol_2015.pdf Articolo in rivista Frontiers Research Foundation, 1664 302X Frontiers in microbiology Frontiers in microbiology Front. microbiol. Frontiers in microbiology carolina.cruzviggi CRUZ VIGGI CAROLINA BELLAGAMBA MARCO PRESTA ENRICA BALIJEPALLI SANTOSH KIRAN simona.rossetti ROSSETTI SIMONA saulius.kaciulis KACIULIS SAULIUS federico.aulenta AULENTA FEDERICO |
