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Accumulation of microbial biomass and its influence on porous media flow were investigated under saturated flow conditions. Microfluidic experiments were performed with model organisms, and their accumulation was observed in the pore... more
Accumulation of microbial biomass and its influence on porous media flow were investigated under saturated flow conditions. Microfluidic experiments were performed with model organisms, and their accumulation was observed in the pore space and on the sub-pore scale. Time-lapse optical imaging revealed different modes of biomass accumulation through primary colonization, secondary growth, and filtration events, showing the formation of preferential flow pathways in the flooding domain as result of the increasing interstitial velocity. Navier–Stokes–Brinkmann flow simulations were performed on the segmented images—a digital-twin approach—considering locally accumulated biomass as impermeable or permeable based on optical biomass density. By comparing simulation results and the experimental responses, it was shown that accumulated biomass can be considered as a permeable medium. The average intra-biomass permeability was determined to be 500 ± 200 mD, which is more than a factor of 10 ...
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Competitive exclusion treatment is able to increase the pathogen colonization resistance of day-old chicks by applying probiotic bacteria stabilizing the indigenous microflora. In order to develop a safe microbial feed additive, various... more
Competitive exclusion treatment is able to increase the pathogen colonization resistance of day-old chicks by applying probiotic bacteria stabilizing the indigenous microflora. In order to develop a safe microbial feed additive, various bacterial strains were isolated out of the gastrointestinal tract of healthy chickens. One hundred twenty-one representatives were selected based on differences in whole-cell protein patterns and screened for antagonistic properties. Five effective strains (Pediococcus acidilactici, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. animalis, Lactobacillus reuteri, and Lactobacillus salivarius ssp. salivarius) exhibited in vitro the ability to inhibit a range of common pathogens and were evaluated with regard to the risks associated with genetic transfer of antibiotic resistances from animals to humans via the food chain. The probiotic strains were sensitive to several clinically effective antibiotics, though some of them showed single resistances. ...
Research Interests: Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Biology, Agriculture, European Union, and 15 moreMedicine, Food Microbiology, Animal Feed, Animals, Lactobacillus, Bacteria, Chickens, Gastrointestinal Tract, Enterococcus faecium, Food Sciences, Molecular Nutrition, Lactobacillus Salivarius, Bifidobacterium, Competitive Exclusion, and Lactobacillus reuteri
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic, carcinogenic and immunosuppressive mycotoxin. It can be detoxified by various microorganisms, e.g. different yeast strains, via metabolisation into ochratoxin α (OTα). Within this study a growth... more
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxic, carcinogenic and immunosuppressive mycotoxin. It can be detoxified by various microorganisms, e.g. different yeast strains, via metabolisation into ochratoxin α (OTα). Within this study a growth inhibition assay was developed to compare the toxicity of OTA and its degradation product OTα. As an indicator organismBrevibacillus brevis was used. The assay was performed in microtiterplates. Growth inhibition was determined by comparing the optical density values ofBrevibacillus brevis cultures grown in medium supplemented with OTA/OTα and OTA/OTα-free medium, respectively.It could be shown thatB. brevis is sensitive to OTA (EC100=0.5 mg/L±0.03 mg/L), which is not the case for its metabolite OTα. Therefore this bioassay is a useful tool to show the detoxification of OTA to OTα by microbial degradation.
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Means within a column with no common superscript are signifi cantly different (P<0.05). After 28 days, adding MTV alone did not improve live weight, but after 49 days live weight of these animals was slightly higher than in the control... more
Means within a column with no common superscript are signifi cantly different (P<0.05). After 28 days, adding MTV alone did not improve live weight, but after 49 days live weight of these animals was slightly higher than in the control group. Fewer animals were lost to diarrhoea in the control and trial groups than in the toxin group. When animal losses in Group B were considered in the live weight measurement, the most objective evaluation criterion was average daily weight gain (ADWG). ADWG in the toxin group were signifi cantly lower than in the other groups. We conclude that adding Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans to feed can alleviate the negative effects of OTA on swine.
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A wide range of enteropathogens cause costly diarrhoeal diseases in fattening piglets and account for food-related infections in humans. The objective of this study was to screen beneficial bacterial strains from the gastrointestinal... more
A wide range of enteropathogens cause costly diarrhoeal diseases in fattening piglets and account for food-related infections in humans. The objective of this study was to screen beneficial bacterial strains from the gastrointestinal tract of various animal sources for antagonistic activity against diverse pathogens associated with hazardous pig production times. Using agar spot assays, 15 well-characterized strains belonging to Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Bifidobacterium and Bacillus were studied for inhibition of Clostridium perfringens type A, various serovars of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica, as well as Brachyspira pilosicoli. Strong antagonists were further analyzed by studying their cell-free supernatants with and without pH neutralization, proteinase K and catalase treatment. Enterobacteriaceae were effectively inhibited by Lactobacillus salivarius and Lactobacillus reuteri strains, independent from the animal source, and on a lower level by single strains belonging to Lactobacillus mucosae, Lactobacillus amylovorus and Bifidobacterium thermophilum, due to organic acid production. The Bacillus subtilis strain was found to produce an anti-clostridial and anti-Brachyspira metabolite of proteinaceous nature. Homofermentative lactobacilli and B. thermophilum could suppress the growth of B. pilosicoli, the causative agent of intestinal spirochaetosis, whereas heterofermentative strains belonging to L. reuteri and L. mucosae had no effect. The lactic acid bacteria exerted their activity primarily by organic acid release, except one Enterococcus faecium and L. amylovorus strain, which exhibited antagonism through joint activity of lactate and hydrogen peroxide. The findings of this study provide a basis for further in vitro studies and encourage feeding studies to evaluate the antagonistic potential of promising strains in pig production.
Research Interests: Microbiology, Veterinary Microbiology, Probiotics, Biology, Medicine, and 14 moreAnimals, Lactobacillus, Bacteria, Intestines, Swine, Enterococcus faecium, Veterinary Sciences, Swine Diseases, Lactobacillus Salivarius, Clostridium perfringens, Bifidobacterium, Intestinal diseases, Salmonella enterica, and Lactobacillus reuteri
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi affecting human and animal health. Five classes of mycotoxins are of major concern in animal husbandry, namely aflatoxins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, ochratoxins, and fumonisins. Due to... more
Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi affecting human and animal health. Five classes of mycotoxins are of major concern in animal husbandry, namely aflatoxins, trichothecenes, zearalenone, ochratoxins, and fumonisins. Due to their diverse structure these fungal toxins are able to cause a great variety of acute symptoms in animals. Clay minerals have been used in animal nutrition to bind mycotoxins, but the binders are only very specific for aflatoxins but not for other toxins. A novel strategy to control the problem of mycotoxicoses in animals is the application of microorganisms capable of biotransforming mycotoxins into nontoxic metabolites. The microbes act in the intestinal tract of animals prior to the resorption of the mycotoxins. A Eubacterium (BBSH 797) strain is able to deactivate trichothecenes by reduction of the epoxide ring (CAST, Mycotoxins, Risks in Plant, Animal and Human Systems, Task Force Report 139, Council of Agricultural Science and Technology, Ames Iowa 2003, p. 10.; Binder, E. M., Binder, J., Ellend, N., Schaffer, E. et al., in: Miraglia, M., van Egmond, H., Brera, C., Gilbert, J. (Eds.), Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins--Developments in Chemistry, Toxicology and Food Safety, Alaken, Fort Collins 1996, pp. 279-285). This strain was isolated out of bovine rumen fluid and the mode of action was proven in vitro and also in vivo. Further a novel yeast strain, capable of degrading ochratoxin A and zearalenone was isolated and characterized (Bruinink, A., Rasonyi, T., Sidler, C., Nat. Toxins 1999, 6, 173-177; Schatzmayr, G., Heidler, D., Fuchs, E., Mohnl, M. et al., Mycotoxin Res. 2003, 19, 124-128.) Due to the yeasts affiliation to the genus of Trichosporon and its property to degrade mycotoxins this strain was named Trichosporon mycotoxinivorans (Trichosporon MTV, 115).
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Research Interests: Chemistry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, NMR Spectroscopy, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Environmental Pollution, and 15 moreMedicine, Multidisciplinary, Infrared spectroscopy, Regression Analysis, Soil organic matter, Cross Validation, Partition Coefficient, Diffuse reflectance, Partial Least Squares Regression, Functional Group, Alkanes, Char, Organic Chemicals, Partial Least Square, and Domain Model
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Dietary ochratoxin A (OTA) has a negative impact on performance of chickens and pigs. To avoid losses in animal production through intake of this mycotoxin and to prevent carry over to humans, strategies for counteracting have to be... more
Dietary ochratoxin A (OTA) has a negative impact on performance of chickens and pigs. To avoid losses in animal production through intake of this mycotoxin and to prevent carry over to humans, strategies for counteracting have to be developed. In contrast to physical and chemical detoxification methods inactivation of ochratoxins by enzymatic reactions represent a very specific and gentle process. For the development of a new feed additive various environments have been screened for microorganisms with the capability of degrading or of cleaving the phenylalanine-moiety of ochratoxin A. Two OTA-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from rumen fluid and four pure cultures capable of cleaving ochratoxin A were obtained from pig intestine. The highest number of ochratoxin A degrading strains were found amongst aerobic bacteria which have mainly been isolated from soil.
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BACKGROUND: Vegetable oils are used as environmentally friendly and cost‐efficient amendments for the treatment of contaminated soils, primarily as solvents for the mobilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In the present... more
BACKGROUND: Vegetable oils are used as environmentally friendly and cost‐efficient amendments for the treatment of contaminated soils, primarily as solvents for the mobilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In the present study, the efficacies of food‐grade and of waste oils, i.e. thermally ‘abused’ cooking oils, in increasing physical and potential microbial accessibility of soil‐sorbed PAH were evaluated.RESULTS: Abused oils were found to be slightly less efficient for PAH mobilization than their unheated counterparts. After 168 h of extraction, residual concentrations amounted to between 5% and 20% of initial PAH (16 EPA‐compounds). The non‐bioaccessible PAH fraction was reduced by up to 84% using canola or sunflower oil in a bioaccessibility‐limited soil. For all oils, removal efficacy increased with PAH hydrophobicity, including the carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene. Simple octanol‐, soil organic carbon–and triolein–water partitioning coefficients did not serve to expla...
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BACKGROUND: Coal tar is a complex mixture of more than 100 compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs, phenolic as well as NSO‐heterocyclic compounds (HAC). Many of these are associated with human and... more
BACKGROUND: Coal tar is a complex mixture of more than 100 compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs, phenolic as well as NSO‐heterocyclic compounds (HAC). Many of these are associated with human and environmental risk. Information concerning the environmental fate of coal tar constituents, apart from the 16 PAHs listed as priority substances by the US‐EPA, is scarce. In the current study, aerobic degradation of aromatic tar oil constituents in ten historically contaminated soils was monitored under laboratory conditions using two‐dimensional comprehensive GC2/ MS.RESULTS: Fifty‐four aromatic compounds were detected in one single analysis. Degradation behavior of individual compounds was determined by their hydrophobicity, molecular size, degree of alkylation and isomeric conformation. Eight substances, including six US‐EPA PAHs and two benzofluorene isomers, were identified in nine out of ten soils as principal components in the residual contamina...
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Research Interests: Chemistry, Phytoremediation, Bioremediation, Crustacea, Environmental Chemistry, and 15 moreEnvironmental Pollution, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, Soil contamination, Animals, Laboratory experiment, Bioassay, Ecotoxicity, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Chlorophyta, Environmental, Soil Pollutants, Aliivibrio fischeri, Treatment Effect, and Medicago sativa
Research Interests: Chemistry, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, NMR Spectroscopy, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Environmental Pollution, and 15 moreMedicine, Multidisciplinary, Infrared spectroscopy, Regression Analysis, Soil organic matter, Cross Validation, Partition Coefficient, Diffuse reflectance, Partial Least Squares Regression, Functional Group, Alkanes, Char, Organic Chemicals, Partial Least Square, and Domain Model
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Crude oil-derived hydrocarbons constitute the largest group of environmental pollutants worldwide. The number of reports concerning their toxicity and emphasizing the ultimate need to remove them from marine and soil environments confirms... more
Crude oil-derived hydrocarbons constitute the largest group of environmental pollutants worldwide. The number of reports concerning their toxicity and emphasizing the ultimate need to remove them from marine and soil environments confirms the unceasing interest of scientists in this field. Among the various techniques used for clean-up actions, bioremediation seems to be the most acceptable and economically justified. Analysis of recent reports regarding unsuccessful bioremediation attempts indicates that there is a need to highlight the fundamental aspects of hydrocarbon microbiology in a clear and concise manner. Therefore, in this review, we would like to elucidate some crucial, but often overlooked, factors. First, the formation of crude oil and abundance of naturally occurring hydrocarbons is presented and compared with bacterial ability to not only survive but also to utilize such compounds as an attractive energy source. Then, the significance of nutrient limitation on biomas...
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Surfactants not only are widely used in biotechnological processes but also constitute significant contaminants of the modern world. Among many reports, there is a shortage of works which summarize the issue of surfactant sorption to... more
Surfactants not only are widely used in biotechnological processes but also constitute significant contaminants of the modern world. Among many reports, there is a shortage of works which summarize the issue of surfactant sorption to biomass in a way that would elucidate the biological factors for analysts and analytical factors for microbiologists. The main factor, which is not as obvious as one would expect, is associated with the susceptibility of analytical approaches to errors resulting from incorrect handling of biomass. In case of several publications reviewed in the framework of this study, it was not possible to establish whether the decrease of the analytical signal observed by the authors actually resulted from biodegradation of the surfactant. This review emphasizes the necessity to consider the possibility of surfactant sorption to microbial cells, which may result in significant detection errors as well as conceptual inconsistency. In addition, a reference study regard...
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To assess the exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) it is important to understand the binding mechanisms between specific soil constituents and the organic pollutant. In this study, sorptive bioaccessibility extraction (SBE)... more
To assess the exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) it is important to understand the binding mechanisms between specific soil constituents and the organic pollutant. In this study, sorptive bioaccessibility extraction (SBE) was applied to quantify the accessible PAH fraction in industrially contaminated soil with and without passive dosing of a competitive sorbate. SBE experiments revealed an accessible PAH fraction of 41 ± 1% (∑16 US EPA PAHs + 5 further PAHs). The passive dosing of toluene below its saturation level revealed competitive binding and resulted in an average increase of the accessible fraction to 49 ± 2%, whereby primarily the accessibility of higher molecular weight PAHs (log Kow > 6) was affected. Competitive binding was verified using the same soil with only desorption-resistant PAHs present. In this experiment, passive dosing of toluene resulted in desorption of 13 ± 0.4% PAH. We explain increased PAH desorption after addition of toluene by competitive adsorption to high-affinity sorption sites while acknowledging that toluene could additionally have increased PAH mobility within the soil matrix. Findings suggest that the presence of copollutants at contaminated sites deserves specific considerations as these may increase accessibility and thereby exposure and mobility of PAHs.
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Der zunehmende Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energiegewinnung aus Sonne und Wind erfordert zukunftsweisende saisonale Speicherlösungen. Untertage-Gasspeicher sind bereits heute sichere und verlässliche großvolumige Energiespeicher. Die... more
Der zunehmende Ausbau der erneuerbaren Energiegewinnung aus Sonne und Wind erfordert zukunftsweisende saisonale Speicherlösungen. Untertage-Gasspeicher sind bereits heute sichere und verlässliche großvolumige Energiespeicher. Die Power-to-Gas-Technologie macht die Umwandlung überschüssiger elektrischer Energie in Wasserstoff bzw. synthetisches Methan möglich. Im Forschungsprojekt „Underground Sun Storage“ wird die Speicherfähigkeit von Wasserstoff als Beimengung zu Erdgas/synthetischem Methan in Porenlagerstätten erforscht.
ABSTRACT High cell density fermentation systems (e.g. using micorcarriers) result in high volumetric substrate conversion. Control of metabolite concentrations is essential to prevent nutrient limitations or toxic levels of catabolites.... more
ABSTRACT High cell density fermentation systems (e.g. using micorcarriers) result in high volumetric substrate conversion. Control of metabolite concentrations is essential to prevent nutrient limitations or toxic levels of catabolites. In this work Glucose was automatically controlled at a constant concentration level. For aseptic sampling an in house developed cross-flow filtration module was used. Measurement was done by a PC-managed FIA-Biosensor system. Commercially available as well as self made sensors were tested. Glucose values were periodically used for calculation of feeding rate. Due to the design (automated data validation, exchangeable sampling and sensing modules) the system can be applied to long term animal cell culture fermentation.
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... Hildegard Aichberger a , Andreas P. Loibner a , Rafael Celis b , Rudolf Braun a , Franz Ottner c &amp;amp;amp; Helmut Rost a pages 73-85. ... Luthy, RG, Aiken, GR, Brusseau, ML, Cunningham, SD, Gschwend, PM, Pignatello, JJ,... more
... Hildegard Aichberger a , Andreas P. Loibner a , Rafael Celis b , Rudolf Braun a , Franz Ottner c &amp;amp;amp; Helmut Rost a pages 73-85. ... Luthy, RG, Aiken, GR, Brusseau, ML, Cunningham, SD, Gschwend, PM, Pignatello, JJ, Reinhard, M., Traina, SJ, Weber, WJ Jr. and Westall, JC 1997. ...
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Abstract At present, the position of the authorities in the European Union is not clear on whether to accept natural attenuation (NA) as a strategy to manage contaminated sites. A key issue is that destructive processes, such as biotic... more
Abstract At present, the position of the authorities in the European Union is not clear on whether to accept natural attenuation (NA) as a strategy to manage contaminated sites. A key issue is that destructive processes, such as biotic and abiotic degradation, must prevail over non-...
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Research Interests: Earth Sciences, Chemistry, Ecotoxicology, Environmental Chemistry, Medicine, and 15 moreAdsorption, Biological Sciences, Biodegradation, Environmental Sciences, Humans, Bacteria, Bioassay, Bioavailability, Desorption, Grain size distribution, Contaminated soil, Environmental quality, Biodegradability, Environment Quality, and High Molecular Weight
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The constituents of tar oil comprise a wide range of physico-chemically heterogeneous pollutants of environmental concern. Besides the sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons defined as priority pollutants by the US-EPA (EPA-PAHs), a... more
The constituents of tar oil comprise a wide range of physico-chemically heterogeneous pollutants of environmental concern. Besides the sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons defined as priority pollutants by the US-EPA (EPA-PAHs), a wide range of substituted (NSO-PAC) and alkylated (alkyl-PAC) aromatic tar oil compounds are gaining increased attention for their toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic and/or teratogenic properties. Investigations on tar oil biodegradation in soil are in part hampered by the absence of an efficient analytical tool for the simultaneous analysis of this wide range of compounds with dissimilar analytical properties. Therefore, the present study sets out to explore the applicability of comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC²/MS) for the simultaneous measurement of compounds with differing polarity or that are co-eluting in one-dimensional systems. Aerobic tar oil biodegradation in a historically contaminated soil was analyzed over 56 days in lab-scale bioslurry tests. Forty-three aromatic compounds were identified with GC²/MS in one single analysis. The number of alkyl chains on a molecule was found to prime over alkyl chain length in hampering compound biodegradation. In most cases, substitution of carbon with nitrogen and oxygen was related to increased compound degradation in comparison to unalkylated and sulphur- or unsubstituted PAH with a similar ring number.The obtained results indicate that GC²/MS can be employed for the rapid assessment of a large variety of structurally heterogeneous environmental contaminants. Its application can contribute to facilitate site assessment, development and control of microbial cleanup technologies for tar oil contaminated sites.
Research Interests: Engineering, Technology, Biotechnology, Mass Spectrometry, Environmental Monitoring, and 14 moreOils, Biological Sciences, Environmental Concern, Nitrogen, Gas Chromatography, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Contaminated soil, GAS LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY, Alkylation, Rapid Assessment, Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Heterocyclic compounds, and Soil Pollutants
Crude oil consists of a large number of hydrocarbons with different susceptibility to microbial degradation. The influence of hydrocarbon structure and molecular weight on hydrocarbon biodegradation under anaerobic conditions is not fully... more
Crude oil consists of a large number of hydrocarbons with different susceptibility to microbial degradation. The influence of hydrocarbon structure and molecular weight on hydrocarbon biodegradation under anaerobic conditions is not fully explored. In this study oxygen, nitrate and sulphate served as terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) for the microbial degradation of a paraffin-rich crude oil in a freshly contaminated soil. During 185 days of incubation, alkanes from n-C11 to n-C39, three n- to iso-alkane ratios commonly used as weathering indicators and the unresolved complex mixture (UCM) were quantified and statistically analyzed. The use of different TEAs for hydrocarbon degradation resulted in dissimilar degradative patterns for n- and iso-alkanes. While n-alkane biodegradation followed well-established patterns under aerobic conditions, lower molecular weight alkanes were found to be more recalcitrant than mid- to high-molecular weight alkanes under nitrate-reducing conditions. Biodegradation with sulphate as the TEA was most pronounced for long-chain (n-C32 to n-C39) alkanes. The observation of increasing ratios of n-C17 to pristane and of n-C18 to phytane provides first evidence of the preferential degradation of branched over normal alkanes under sulphate reducing conditions. The formation of distinctly different n- and iso-alkane biodegradation fingerprints under different electron accepting conditions may be used to assess the occurrence of specific degradation processes at a contaminated site. The use of n- to iso-alkane ratios for this purpose may require adjustment if applied for anaerobic sites.
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Research Interests: Engineering, Petroleum, Biotechnology, Community Involvement, Biological Sciences, and 15 morePhylogeny, Anaerobic Digestion, Bacteria, Methane, Gas Chromatography, HYDROCARBONS, Contaminated soil, Sewage, Bioreactors, Molecular weight, Elsevier, Energy Crop, Organic Residue, Energy recovery, and Molecular Sequence Data
Research Interests: Soil Science, Chemistry, Phytoremediation, Carbon Dioxide, Environmental Chemistry, and 13 moreSoil Pollution, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Industry, Case Study, Laboratory experiment, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Contamination, Bioavailability, Contaminated soil, Supercritical Fluid Extraction, Industrie, and Soil Water
Research Interests: Soil, Ecotoxicology, Biomass, Soil Pollution, Biological Sciences, and 14 moreGrowth, Environmental Sciences, Toxicity, Helix Aspersa, Animals, Snails, Pollutants, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Iso, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Body Weight, Soil Types, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and Aromatic
Research Interests: Chemistry, Population Dynamics, Fungi, Medicine, Multidisciplinary, and 13 moreEnvironmental science and technology, Animals, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Oligochaeta, Plant Roots, Soil Microbiology, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Vibrio, Surface Active Agents, Toxicity Tests, Microbial Community Structure, Environmental, and Soil Pollutants
Research Interests: Biomimetics, Environmental Monitoring, Risk assessment, Environmental Pollution, Multidisciplinary, and 13 moreAdsorption, Legislation, Humic Substances, Plants, Bioavailability, Theoretical Models, Risk Assessment, Spectroscopic Techniques, Organic Matter, Physico chemical Properties, Organic Compound, Soil Pollutants, and Biomimetic
Crude oil is a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) with distinct chemical, physical and toxicological properties relevant for contaminated site risk assessment. Ecotoxicological effects of crude oil distillation fractions on... more
Crude oil is a complex mixture of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) with distinct chemical, physical and toxicological properties relevant for contaminated site risk assessment. Ecotoxicological effects of crude oil distillation fractions on luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri), earthworms (Dendrobaena hortensis) and invertebrates (Heterocypris incongruens) were tested using two spiked soils and their elutriates. Fraction 2 (F2) had an equivalent carbon number (ECN) range of &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;10 to 16, and F3 from &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;16 to 39. F2 showed a substantially higher ecotoxicological effect than F3 for Vibrio and Dendrobaena. In contrast, severe inhibition of Heterocypris by the poorly soluble F3 is attributed to mechanical organ blockage. Immediate sequestration of PHC to the organic matter-rich soil effected reduced toxicity for all organisms. This study indicates that a more differentiated consideration (i) of PHC mixtures based on ECN range and (ii) of model soil properties employed for ecotoxicity testing should be included into PHC-contaminated site risk assessment.
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Research Interests: Multidisciplinary, Quantitative analysis, Soil Pollution, Biodegradation, Chemical Analysis, and 15 morePolycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, Power Plants, Qualitative Analysis, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), Contaminated soil, Reproducibility of Results, Quantitative Analysis, Molecular weight, BIOCIDE, Cold Storage, Freezing, Chemical Stability, Soil Pollutants, Low molecular weight, and HPLC Chromatography
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Preliminary tests at different scales such as degradation experiments (laboratory) in shaking flasks, soil columns and lysimeters as well as in situ respiration tests (field) were performed with soil from two hydrocarbon contaminated... more
Preliminary tests at different scales such as degradation experiments (laboratory) in shaking flasks, soil columns and lysimeters as well as in situ respiration tests (field) were performed with soil from two hydrocarbon contaminated sites. Tests have been evaluated in terms of their potential to provide information on feasibility, degradation rates and residual concentration of bioremediation in the vadose zone. Sample size, costs and duration increased with experimental scale in the order shaking flasks - soil columns - lysimeter - in situ respiration tests, only time demand of respiration tests was relatively low. First-order rate constants observed in degradation experiments exhibited significant differences between both, different experimental sizes and different soils. Rates were in line with type and history of contamination at the sites, but somewhat overestimated field rates particularly in small scale experiments. All laboratory experiments allowed an estimation of residual concentrations after remediation. In situ respiration tests were found to be an appropriate pre-testing and monitoring tool for bioventing although residual concentrations cannot be predicted from in situ respiration tests. Moreover, this method does not account for potential limitations that might hamper biodegradation in the longer term but only reflects the actual degradation potential when the test is performed.
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... contaminated land ... This was reflected in the title of our project Development of a decision support system for sustainable management of contaminated land by linking bioavailability, ecological risk and ground water pollution of... more
... contaminated land ... This was reflected in the title of our project Development of a decision support system for sustainable management of contaminated land by linking bioavailability, ecological risk and ground water pollution of organic pollutants or in short LIBERATION. ...