IJUP08 - Universidade do Porto

Monitoring of Biological Remediation of a Soil Polluted with
Petroleum Hydrocarbons
E. Monteiro 1* , M. N. Couto 1,2 , and M. T. S.D.Vasconcelos 1,2
1 Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal.
2 CIMAR/CIIMAR – Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Portugal
*c0303048@alunos.fc.up.pt
Due to several human activities many petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) have been
introduced in soil and sediments. Much PHC, particularly the less volatile ones (LVPHC),
are persistent and can be tightly sorbed into soil particles, decreasing PHC bioavailability.
Biological remediation is a low cost way for recovering polluted soil, which rehabilitates
soil structure. A project is in process to survey, as exhaustively as possible, the main
factors that influence the efficiency of biological degradation of LVPHCs assisted by
vascular plants (bioaugmentation and rhizoremediation). Plants well adapted to coastal
areas and capable of living in soils with relatively high salinity were chosen. This pilot
study is carrying out ex-situ, in polluted soil from a petrol refinery. At the beginning and
during the study, the LVPHCs contents are determining both in soil and lixiviate, by using
spectrophotometry [1], after suitable PHC extraction from the samples. The role of the
under-graduated student in the project is the optimization of analytical methods for an
expeditious monitoring of the efficiency of PHC degradation.
This project provides a real mesocosmos study, in a field with specific characteristics, and
it is expected that in a middling/long time it will give clear conclusions about suitable
conditions for decontamination of either the global area of the refinery or other sites with
similar contamination.
In this communication, the first results of the project will be presented and discussed.
[1] Liste, H-H and Felgentreu, D. (2006), Crop growth, culturable bacteria, and degradation of
petrol hydrocarbons (PHCs) in a long-term contaminated field soil, Applied soil Ecology 31, 43-
52.
Acknowledgements: To FC&T for the Ph.D. scholarship of M. N. Couto (SFRH/31816/2006). To
Refinery of Oporto (GALP Energy) for financial support. Logistical support by J. Amorim, from
Refinery of Oporto and technological advices and logistical support by I. Teixeira, R. Salé and E.
Bernardes from Berka – Engº E. Bernardes, Lda and M. I. Caçador from Oceanographic Inst. of
Sci. Fac, L.U.
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