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Lookup NU author(s): Professor David WernerORCiD
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by American Chemical Society, 2019.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Biodegradation of hydrophobic organic contaminants by bacteria has been widely studied, but how dissolved organic matter (DOM) may affect their removal if accumulated on biochars is poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, microbial mineralization of phenanthrene (PHE) spiked on various biochars by Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 in the presence of humic acid (HA, a model DOM) at two concentrations was investigated. Our findings showed that HA greatly increased the rate and extent of PHE mineralization. This could be attributed to enhanced PHE desorption by HA which facilitated access to it by bacteria in the aqueous phase. Furthermore, the high HA affinity for PHE facilitated PHE flow towards the bacterial cells with HA acting as a carrier in the aqueous phase. The mineralization enhancement of PHE by HA within 480 h was negatively influenced by the aromatic carbon contents and micropore volumes in biochars. This shows the importance of the physicochemical properties of biochars in altering the HA effect. Results of this study provide novel information on how to achieve complete removal of PHE accumulated on biochars with a strong sorption affinity for it, using a microbial technique and natural DOM.
Author(s): Zhang M, Shen X, Zhang H, Werner D, Wang B, Yang Y, Tao S, Wang X
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Environmental Science & Technology
Year: 2019
Volume: 52
Issue: 22
Pages: 13201-13208
Print publication date: 19/11/2019
Online publication date: 28/10/2019
Acceptance date: 28/10/2019
Date deposited: 17/01/2020
ISSN (print): 0013-936X
ISSN (electronic): 1520-5851
Publisher: American Chemical Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b05147
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b05147
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