Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)-contaminated soil: process evaluation through composting and anaerobic digestion approach A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Presented by Tahseen A. S. Sayara Directors: Dr. Antoni Sánchez Ferrer Dra. Montserrat Sarrà Adroguer Departament d’Enginyeria Química Escola d’Enginyeria Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Bellaterra (Cerdanyola del Vallès), September 2010 ANTONI SÁNCHEZ FERRER i MONTSERRAT SARRÀ ADROGUER professors titulars del Departament d’Enginyeria Química de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. CERTIFIQUEM: Que l’enginyer Tahseen A. S. Sayara ha realitzat sota la nostra dirección el treball que, amb el títol “Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)-contaminated soil: process evaluation through composting and anaerobic digestion approach”, es presenta en aquesta memòria, la qual contitueix la seva Tesi per optar al Grau de Doctor per la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. I perquè en prengueu coneixement i consti als efectes oportuns, presentem a l’Escola d’Enginyeria de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona l’esmentada Tesi, signant el present certicat a Bellaterra, Setembre de 2010 Dr. ANTONI SÁNCHEZ FERRER Dra. MONTSERRAT SARRÀ ADROGUER DON'T let the past hold you back, you're missing the good stuff IT IS OUR LIFE! WE CALL IT SOIL,,, IT IS THE STUFF, IN WHICH WE TOIL,,, FROM SOIL WE'VE SPRUNG, TO SOIL WE'LL GO,,, PROTECT THE SOIL OF THIS EARTH SO WE CAN GROW,,, Acknowledgment I would like to sincerely express my great gratitude and special appreciation to my supervisors Dr.Antoni Sánchez Ferrer and Dra. Montserrat Sarrà Adroguer for their valuable advice, guidance, wonderful encouragement and patience throughout the research and thesis preparation. I would like also to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to Dr. Tomaš Cathjmal for his generous hosting, guidance and recommendations during my research stay in their laboratory in Prague, Czech Republic. It is always impossible to personally thank everyone who has helped successful completion of this study. To those of you without specifically name, my sincere thanks go to all of you, my friends and colleagues in Spain and Czech Republic. Really, this is a great opportunity to express my acknowledgement, respect and gratefulness to you for your friendship, encouragement and assistance. I would like to thank all the people in the Department of Chemical Engineering in UAB for their nice treatment and friendship during my study, many thanks to all of you. I would like also to thank La Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) for the pre-doctoral scholarship, and El Ministerio de Educaciòn de España for the study-mobility grant during my research stay in Prague, Czech Republic. Last and surely not least, my wonderful and great family,,, To the soul of my father, God bless him, I dedicate this work. My beloved, honourable and great mother, the candle which was burnt to light the road for us, this is the real moment to thank for your infinite care from kinder till now. My great gratitude and sincere appreciation to my brothers; Hatem, Mohammad and Dr.Taleb for their endless support, encouragement and who never stop wishing me the best of luck. My sincere thanks and appreciation to my sisters for their wonderful encouragement, kindness, and wishing me the best of luck. My Great FAMILY,,, Every Thing I DO I DO It FOR YOU ALL,,, May God Bless You All. Table of contents Resume of the dissertation Abbreviations Chapter 1 ........................................................................................................................ 1 General Introduction...................................................................................................... 1 Background....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The need for soil remediation.............................................................................. 2 1.2 Remediation methods of contaminated soil ....................................................... 2 1.3 Remediation method: Selection criteria ............................................................. 4 1.4 Bioremediation strategies: In-situ versus ex-situ............................................... 5 1.4.1 In-situ bioremediation ..................................................................................... 5 1.4.2 Ex-situ Bioremediation.................................................................................... 6 1.5 Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)......................... 8 1.5.1 PAHs: Properties and sources ......................................................................... 8 1.5.2 Soil contamination with PAHs and European management.......................... 10 1.5.3 Health and environmental concern................................................................ 12 1.6 Bioremediation.................................................................................................... 12 1.6.1 Bioremediation controlling factors................................................................ 13 1.7 Strategies to enhance bioremediation efficiency.............................................. 14 1.7.1 Biostimulation approach................................................................................ 14 1.7.2 Bioaugmentation approach............................................................................ 15 1.7.3 Surfactants ..................................................................................................... 16 1.7.4 Cometabolism .............................................................................................. 16 1.8 Advantages and disadvantages of the bioremediation process ...................... 16 1.9 Composting technology ...................................................................................... 17 1.9.1 Composting process....................................................................................... 17 1.9.2 Fundamentals of composting......................................................................... 18 1.10 Bioremediation of PAHs-contaminated soil through composting................ 21 1.11 Anaerobic digestion .......................................................................................... 23 1.11.1 Anaerobic digestion stages .......................................................................... 23 1.11.2 General operating parameters of anaerobic digestion ................................. 24 1.12 PAHs degradation through anaerobic digestion ........................................... 25 References...................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2 ...................................................................................................................... 35 Research objectives....................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 3 ...................................................................................................................... 37 Analytical methods and bioremediation approaches ................................................ 37 3.1 Analytical methods ............................................................................................. 37 3.1.1 Moisture content (MC) and dry matter (DM)................................................ 37 3.1.2 Total organic matter (OM) ............................................................................ 38 3.1.3 pH .................................................................................................................. 38 3.1.4 Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN)..................................................................... 38 3.1.5 Humic matter ................................................................................................. 39 3.1.6 Organic matter stability ................................................................................. 39 3.1.7 Anaerobic digestion: Biogas production ....................................................... 44 i 3.2 Bioremediation systems...................................................................................... 46 3.2.1 Composting system ....................................................................................... 46 3.2.2 Anaerobic digestion system........................................................................... 48 3.3 Experiment Design Methodology...................................................................... 49 References...................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 4 ...................................................................................................................... 55 Bioremediation of PAHs-contaminated soil through composting............................ 55 4.1 Published articles................................................................................................ 55 Article I.......................................................................................................................... 57 Preliminary screening of cosubstrates for bioremediation of pyrene-contaminated soil through composting. ............................................................................................ 57 Article II .......................................................................................................................