Bioelectroventing: an electrochemical‐assisted bioremediation strategy for cleaning‐up atrazine‐polluted soils

• Published in: Microbial biotechnology Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 50 - 62
• Main Authors: Domínguez‐Garay, Ainara, Quejigo, Jose Rodrigo, Dörfler, Ulrike, Schroll, Reiner, Esteve‐Núñez, Abraham
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2018; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Algae; Atrazine; Atrazine - metabolism; Attenuation; Biodegradation; Biodegradation, Environmental; Bioremediation; Carbon Dioxide - metabolism; Cleaning; Electrochemical Techniques - methods; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Herbicides; Herbicides - metabolism; Mass balance; Metabolism; Metabolites; Microbiological Techniques - methods; Microorganisms; Mineralization; Natural attenuation; Oxidation; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxidative metabolism; Pollutants; Sediment pollution; Silver chloride; Soil - chemistry; Soil analysis; Soil bacteria; Soil microorganisms; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Soil pollution; Soil treatment; Soils; Studies; Germany
• ISSN: 1751-7915; 1751-7915
• DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.12687

Summary The absence of suitable terminal electron acceptors (TEA) in soil might limit the oxidative metabolism of environmental microbial populations. Bioelectroventing is a bioelectrochemical strategy that aims to enhance the biodegradation of a pollutant in the environment by overcoming the electron acceptor limitation and maximizing metabolic oxidation. Microbial electroremediating cells (MERCs) are devices that can perform such a bioelectroventing. We also report an overall profile of the 14C‐ATR metabolites and 14C mass balance in response to the different treatments. The objective of this work was to use MERC principles, under different configurations, to stimulate soil bacteria to achieve the complete biodegradation of the herbicide 14C‐atrazine (ATR) to 14CO2 in soils. Our study concludes that using electrodes at a positive potential [+600 mV (versus Ag/AgCl)] ATR mineralization was enhanced by 20‐fold when compared to natural attenuation in electrode‐free controls. Furthermore, ecotoxicological analysis of the soil after the bioelectroventing treatment revealed an effective clean‐up in < 20 days. The impact of electrodes on soil bioremediation suggests a promising future for this emerging environmental technology. Bioelectroventing is a bioelectrochemical strategy that aims to enhance the biodegradation of a pollutant in the environment by overcoming the electron acceptor limitation and maximizing metabolic oxidation.