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Applied Sciences
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Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering
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Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 December 2021) | Viewed by 17211

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Seung-Woo Jeong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental Engineering, Kunsan National University, Gunsan, Korea
Interests: soil and groundwater remediation; surfactant foam applications for pollution control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioremediation is an engineering process that uses living organisms such as microbes and bacteria to treat contaminated media, including water, soil, and subsurface material. It has been half a century since bioremediation, which started with hazardous waste management, was applied as an important environmental engineering process for the treatment of contaminated media. Bioremediation is one of the most economical and harmless treatment approaches in terms of effects on ecosystems and humans. As new chemicals and products continue to be created, the types of pollutants that are being released into the environment are constantly increasing in number. Thus, there is a constant need for new bioremediation methods to treat emerging pollutants and contaminated media. In addition, recent interest in eco-friendly systems has made efforts to attempt effective bioremediation with less energy and material input. Recently, research to produce and utilize energy generated during biological processing has also been active.

In this Special Issue, I would like to present the results of research on new bioremediation efforts that meet the needs of the times. I am calling for research papers that can open up horizons for eco-friendly bioremediation, as well as a general review and application analysis, laboratory and field application papers on hazardous waste, and contaminated soil and groundwater. Additionally, recent advances in bioremediation are welcomed in this Issue: biodegradation for emerging pollutants, new environmental engineering applications of biological processes (prevention of air pollution and odor control, etc.), field automation application of biological processes, the production of biogas and energy during biological treatment, etc. I welcome your participation in developing these new environmental engineering technologies that will illuminate the 21st century.

Prof. Dr. Seung-Woo Jeong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bioremediation
  • biodegradation
  • biological processes
  • hazardous substances
  • wastewater
  • soil
  • groundwater

Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 3014 KiB  
Article
Bioremediation of Hydrocarbon-Polluted Soil: Evaluation of Different Operative Parameters
by David Javier Castro Rodríguez, Omar Gutiérrez Benítez, Enmanuel Casals Pérez, Micaela Demichela, Alberto Godio and Fulvia Chiampo
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 2012; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12042012 - 15 Feb 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2028
Abstract
The bioremediation of soils polluted with hydrocarbons demonstrated to be a simple and cheap technique, even if it needs a long time. The current paper shows the application of statistical analysis, based on two factors involved in the biological process at several levels. [...] Read more.
The bioremediation of soils polluted with hydrocarbons demonstrated to be a simple and cheap technique, even if it needs a long time. The current paper shows the application of statistical analysis, based on two factors involved in the biological process at several levels. We focus on the Design of Experiments (DOE) to determine the number and kind of experimental runs, whereas the use of the categorical factors has not been widely exploited up to now. This method is especially useful to analyze factors with levels constituted by categories and define the interaction effects. Particularly, we focused on the statistical analysis of (1) experimental runs carried out at laboratory scale (test M, in microcosm), on soil polluted with diesel oil, and (2) bench scale runs (test B, in biopile), on refinery oil sludge mixed with industrial or agricultural biodegradable wastes. Finally, the main purpose was to identify the factor’s significance in both the tests and their potential interactions, by applying the analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results demonstrate the robustness of the statistical method and its quality, especially when at least one of the factors cannot be defined with a numerical value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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12 pages, 3873 KiB  
Article
Applicability Evaluation of Soil Algae Pipe Assay in Silver Nanoparticle-Contaminated Soils
by Jin Il Kwak, Sun-Hwa Nam and Youn-Joo An
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 1890; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12041890 - 11 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1467
Abstract
Due to pervasive and resilient soil contaminants, heterogeneously contaminated soil poses unpredictable potential threats to ecosystems. In this study, the extension of a previously developed soil algae pipe assay for evaluating heterogeneously contaminated soil under an open system is described. The assay can [...] Read more.
Due to pervasive and resilient soil contaminants, heterogeneously contaminated soil poses unpredictable potential threats to ecosystems. In this study, the extension of a previously developed soil algae pipe assay for evaluating heterogeneously contaminated soil under an open system is described. The assay can be used in soil that is heterogeneously contaminated with silver nanoparticles in combination with the examination of morphological changes (e.g., in vivo chlorophyll a, cell granularity, cell size, and mucilaginous sheath) and lipid contents. In addition, we attempted to extend the exposure duration under an open system. We evaluated the applicability of this soil algae pipe assay using green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exposed to heterogeneous and homogeneous polyvinylpyrrolidone capping silver nanoparticles in contaminated soils. The results demonstrated that this method is an applicable bioassay that can be employed to better evaluate soil algal toxicity under an open system, with significant changes in the measured endpoints. The developed assay showed decent predictivity, which can be a useful tool when evaluating heterogeneous soil algae contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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13 pages, 1089 KiB  
Article
Isolation and Screening of Odor-Reducing Microbes from Swine Manure and Its Role in Reducing Ammonia Release in Combination with Surfactant Foam
by Rishikesh Bajagain, Prakash Gautam, Thi Tuyet Nhan Le, Ram Hari Dahal, Jaisoo Kim and Seung-Woo Jeong
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 1806; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12041806 - 10 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2861
Abstract
Swine farming facilities have increased the production of malodorous gases, which negatively affects people. Hence, we developed a new feasible bio-foam technology wherein long-lasting surfactant foam, including bacteria, were sprayed on swine manure. The surfactant foam acted as a physical barrier, suppressing NH [...] Read more.
Swine farming facilities have increased the production of malodorous gases, which negatively affects people. Hence, we developed a new feasible bio-foam technology wherein long-lasting surfactant foam, including bacteria, were sprayed on swine manure. The surfactant foam acted as a physical barrier, suppressing NH3 release, and the aqueous-phase bacteria formed after foam breaking infiltrated in manure and degraded NH3. In this study, we first isolated NH3-degrading bacteria from swine manure. A bacterial consortium was prepared using the effective NH3-degrading strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae NRRL Y-12632 (99.88%) (TP1), Lactococcus lactis subsp. hordniae NBRC100931T (99.93%) (TP3), and Lactobacillus argentoratensis DSM 16365T (100%) (TP5). The surfactant foam used in this study was a dry foam (foam quality 98.5–99.0% and foam density 0.025–0.026 g/cm3), with a foam expansion of 110–112 and high foamability. Large bubbles were generated with a bubble density of 1 bubble/cm2 and a foam lamella thickness of 0.12 mm. In a lab-scale study, foam was sprayed onto NH3-contaminated soil or real swine manure, which reduced the NH3 emission from the source (soil/manure) almost completely (97–100%), but NH3 was re-emitted after foam breaking (5 h: open reactor, 7 h: closed reactor). After loading the bacteria on the foam, the initial NH3 odor suppression was similar to that of the foam alone. However, NH3 was effectively reduced by microbial degradation even after foam breaking. Complete odor degradation was observed after 3 days (72 h; 90–100% reduction) for the NH3-contaminated soil, and 97.7% NH3 in the swine manure was reduced in 24 h. Furthermore, the reagent cost for preparing stable foam was reasonable, indicating its possible field extension. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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17 pages, 7721 KiB  
Article
First Report on the Bioremediation of Textile Industrial Effluents by Piptoporus Betulinus IEBL-3 by Using Response Surface Methodology
by Raja Tahir Mahmood, Muhammad Javaid Asad, Muhammad Asgher, Falak Sher Khan, Khursheed Muzammil, Nazim Nasir, Pervez Anwar and Muhammad Awais
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(3), 1090; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031090 - 21 Jan 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1592
Abstract
The current study was performed to optimize three different industrial textile effluent biodegradation potentials of a brown rot fungus, Piptoporus betulinus IEBL-3, to reduce environmental pollution. The Response Surface Methodology under the Box Bhenken Design was used for the optimization steps. Three ligninolytic [...] Read more.
The current study was performed to optimize three different industrial textile effluent biodegradation potentials of a brown rot fungus, Piptoporus betulinus IEBL-3, to reduce environmental pollution. The Response Surface Methodology under the Box Bhenken Design was used for the optimization steps. Three ligninolytic enzymes named lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase and laccase were also studied during the biodegradation process. The biodegradation rate of the 3 industrial effluents varied between 67 and 76% at the initially optimized conditions. There was a 10%, 7% and 9% increase in the biodegradation of Mujahid textile (MT), Five Star textile (FST) and Sitara textile (ST) effluent, respectively, after the addition of various additional carbon and nitrogen sources in different ratios. The biological treatment decreases the Biological Oxygen Demand and Chemical Oxygen Demand values of the effluents well below the WHO-recommended values for the industrial effluents. The HPLC monitoring of the effluent’s biodegradation showed the appearance of new peaks, some of which may correspond to secondary amines. Study of ligninolytic enzymes during the biodegradation process confirmed their role in the biodegradation process, with lignin peroxidase having highest activity among the others. These findings suggest that P. betulinus is a potential fungus for the biodegradation of the dyes and effluents and can be a suitable candidate for this process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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11 pages, 9672 KiB  
Article
Selecting Bioassay Test Species at the Screening Level of Soil Ecological Risk Assessments
by Dokyung Kim, Tae-Yang Lee, Lia Kim, Rongxue Cui, Jin Il Kwak, Haemi Kim, Sun-Hwa Nam, Minjin Kim, Wonjae Hwang, Ji-In Kim, Seunghun Hyun and Youn-Joo An
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4314; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094314 - 10 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2185
Abstract
For site-specific soil ecological risk assessments (SERAs), an integrated chemical, ecotoxicological, and ecological analysis needs to be performed. The SERA guidelines of international institutions and countries recommend that a SERA be initiated at the screening level to save time and social economic cost; [...] Read more.
For site-specific soil ecological risk assessments (SERAs), an integrated chemical, ecotoxicological, and ecological analysis needs to be performed. The SERA guidelines of international institutions and countries recommend that a SERA be initiated at the screening level to save time and social economic cost; however, they provide no unified test species for this screening level. This study performed SERAs for field soils and confirmed the importance of selecting bioassay test species that reflect the ecotoxicity of field soils at the screening level. To confirm test species that reflect the ecological risk of field soils, correlation analysis was performed on the results of each bioassay with the integrated ecotoxicological risk index (EtoxRI). Our results showed that soil algae, nematodes, and plants were the most representative species in soil assays, with high correlation coefficients with EtoxRI. The results imply the importance of selecting test species that represent ecological risk for the screening level of SERAs. Based on these findings, when using SERAs, species sensitivity, ecological relevance, and economic aspects should be considered when selecting the bioassay test species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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11 pages, 2206 KiB  
Article
Nitrogen Removal Using a Membrane Bioreactor with Rubber Particles as the Fouling Reducer
by Moon-Su Choi, Yuhoon Hwang and Tae-Jin Lee
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3578; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083578 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1809
Abstract
The use of granule activated carbon (GAC) and rubber particles as the bio-fouling reducer in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was evaluated in this study. The addition of GAC tends to temporarily reduce Transmembrane Pressure (TMP). Then, after the initial reduction, TMP gradually increased [...] Read more.
The use of granule activated carbon (GAC) and rubber particles as the bio-fouling reducer in a membrane bioreactor (MBR) was evaluated in this study. The addition of GAC tends to temporarily reduce Transmembrane Pressure (TMP). Then, after the initial reduction, TMP gradually increased back up to 0.7 bar, indicating significant fouling on the membrane. Low TMP values were observed after adding 0.5% (V/V) rubber particles to the same MBR. The organic compound and nitrogen removal efficiencies of the MBR under intermittent aeration were over 94% and 93.3%, respectively. The results showed that Dysgonomonas, Acidobacteria, and Pantoea sp. contributed to the nitrification process while Lactobacillus, Erythrobacter, Phytobacter, and Mycobacterium contributed to the denitrification process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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10 pages, 1946 KiB  
Article
Rapid In Situ Biomonitoring of Subsoil Contamination by Applying an Algae-Soaked Disc Seeding Assay
by Sun-Hwa Nam, Jin Il Kwak and Youn-Joo An
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2463; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062463 - 10 Mar 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1396
Abstract
Various pollutants are pervasive in soil environments due to human activities, thereby damaging soil ecosystems. In this study, extension of a previously developed algae-soaked disc seeding assay for periodic evaluation of subsoil contamination over time was described. The assay can be used in [...] Read more.
Various pollutants are pervasive in soil environments due to human activities, thereby damaging soil ecosystems. In this study, extension of a previously developed algae-soaked disc seeding assay for periodic evaluation of subsoil contamination over time was described. The assay can be used in different contamination configurations of silver nanoparticles in combination with examination of cell morphology, esterase activity, oxidative stress, and membrane permeability. In addition, we periodically attempted to repeat the algae-soaked disc seeding assay every three weeks. We evaluated applicability of this algae-soaked disc seeding assay using alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exposed to heterogeneous silver nanoparticle-contaminated soils. The results demonstrated that this assay is applicable for monitoring a change of subsoil contamination by periodic evaluation over time. The developed assay was identified as a periodically rapid in situ biomonitoring technique to measure subsoil contamination over time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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12 pages, 1282 KiB  
Article
Improved Delivery of Remedial Agents Using Surface Foam Spraying with Vertical Holes into Unsaturated Diesel-Contaminated Soil for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Removal
by Rishikesh Bajagain, Prakash Gautam and Seung-Woo Jeong
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 781; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020781 - 15 Jan 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1963
Abstract
Surface foam spraying technologies, employing natural infiltration processes, have recently been suggested to not disturb or mix contaminated soils. However, effective delivery of reactive remedial agents to the bottom area of a contaminated region using only natural infiltration processes can be a challenge. [...] Read more.
Surface foam spraying technologies, employing natural infiltration processes, have recently been suggested to not disturb or mix contaminated soils. However, effective delivery of reactive remedial agents to the bottom area of a contaminated region using only natural infiltration processes can be a challenge. This study aimed to improve the delivery of remedial agents such as oxidants, microorganisms, and nutrients to all depths of 30 cm thick unsaturated diesel-contaminated soil using small vertical soil holes. Three vertical holes, occupying 0.8% of the total soil volume and 3% of the soil surface area, were made inside the 17.3 kg soil column. Persulfate oxidation foam and subsequent bioaugmentation foam spraying were applied for remediation of contaminated soil. Foam spraying with vertical soil holes improved the uniformity of distribution of remedial agents throughout the soil, as evidenced by the uniform pH, higher volumetric soil water content, and a microbial population of >107 CFU/g. Therefore, the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal efficiency (88–90%) from bottom soils was enhanced compared to soil columns without holes (72–73%) and the control test (5–9%). The kinetic study revealed that relatively similar TPH biodegradation rates (0.054–0.057 d−1) can be obtained for all soil depths by using this new and simple approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioremediation in Environmental Engineering)
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