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A biostimulation study was conducted on mining waste residue with nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) and/or liming agent (ash or CaCO3 ) amendment to assess petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) biodegradation efficiency by indigenous microorganisms. Compounds accumulated and/or released by treated samples were also monitored to determine the potential for acid mine drainage production during biostimulation. The potential for natural attenuation (i.e., the biodegradation of PHC contamination) was initially low but increased significantly upon nutrient addition. The best results were obtained when nutrient addition was coupled with the addition of a liming agent, notably CaCO3 , which contributed to maintaining near-neutral pH values. In fact, during treatment without a liming agent, pH decreased due to the oxidation of sulfide minerals, resulting in acid mine drainage production with increased metals released into sample leachates. Sulfur- and iron-oxidizing bacteria were detected primarily in samples not amended with liming agents, and the predominant organisms were affiliated with Acidithiobacillus spp. and Acidiphilium spp. Overall, the results of the present study demonstrated that amendment with a liming agent when treating PHC-contaminated mining waste residue contributes to maintaining a pH close to neutrality, mitigates sulfate release, and reduces the release of metals without negatively affecting the activity of PHC degraders.

This study examines the feasibility of oil sands process water (OSPW) treatment in a gravitational flow-through membraneless microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) using crushed metallurgical coke as an electrode material. Synthetic OSPW was composed of the water soluble fraction (WSF) of diesel, naphthenic acids (NAs), and metals with a total chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration of 200 mg L − 1 and total NA concentration of 9.4 mg L − 1. OSPW treatment under bioelectrochemical conditions (1.4 V applied voltage) was compared with a control system operated at 0 V. Furthermore, in an additional set of experiments, microaerobic conditions were applied to both MEC and control setups to facilitate NA biodegradation. Highest NA and COD removal rates were observed in the MEC with microaeration in electrode compartments, where total NA concentration decreased to 4.2 mg L − 1 at a hydraulic retention time of 4 days. Furthermore, microtox and microalgae toxicological assays showed substantial toxicity decrease in this MEC.

This work describes laboratory experiments aimed at evaluating the feasibility of removing heavy metals from metal‐contaminated water in flow‐through microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) with peat moss as a source of organic carbon. MECs were assembled in upflow glass columns containing granular activated carbon (GAC) bioelectrodes preceded by a layer of peat moss. The MECs were fed with metal‐contaminated surface water collected at a firing range. At hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 4–6 days, up to 99 % removal of Pb, Zn, Cu, and Fe was observed. The removal efficiency of Zn and Cu declined at an HRT of 1.7 days, while effluent Pb concentration remained below the detection limit for all of the HRTs tested. Metal extraction from MEC compartments showed an accumulation of metals in both the peat moss layer and the GAC cathode, i.e., the removal was achieved by a combination of anaerobic and bioelectrochemical pathways of metal reduction. A proliferation of sulphate reducing bacteria in the peat moss layer and electroactive species in GAC electrodes was confirmed by biomolecular analysis. The proposed flow‐through system, which combines sulphate‐reducing and electroactive microbial activities to achieve near‐complete metal removal, can be used for removing a broad range of heavy metals from contaminated water in a low‐cost passive flow treatment system.

Surficial application of waste glycerol (WG) for enhanced bioremediation was tested in situ at an old military range site to address hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) contaminated groundwater. This treatment was effective in inducing strong reducing conditions (range: −4 to −205 mV) and increasing the concentrations of organic carbon (from 10 to 729 mg/L) and fatty acids (from 0 to 940 mg/L) concomitantly with a decrease in RDX concentrations (range: 17 to 143 μg/L) to below detection limits (0.1 μg/L) in 2 of the 3 monitoring wells (MWs) evaluated. None of these changes were observed in the control MW. RDX disappeared without the detection of any common anaerobic nitroso degradation intermediates, with the exception of one MW where the concentration of organics did not significantly increase (range: 10 to 20 mg/L), suggesting the conditions were not favourable for biodegradation. Ecotoxicological analysis suggested that the use of WG may have some dose-related deleterious effects on different soil and aquatic receptors. Analysis of the microbial community composition, using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences, which provided insight into whether the process design had selected for and stimulated the optimal microbial populations, indicated co-existence of numerous Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) belonging to groups known to be capable of RDX degradation under anaerobic conditions, with a positive link between Geobacter spp. enrichment and the presence of RDX nitroso metabolites. Overall, the results from this field test show that this treatment process can provide an effective long-term, semi-passive remediation option for RDX contaminated groundwater.

This study demonstrated the removal of selenite and selenate in flow-through permeable bioelectrochemical barriers (microbial electrolysis cells, MECs). The bioelectrochemical barriers consisted of cathode and anode electrode compartments filled with granular carbon or metallurgical coke. A voltage of 1.4 V was applied to the electrodes to enable the bioelectrochemical removal of selenium species. For comparison, a similarly designed permeable anaerobic biobarrier filled with granular carbon was operated without voltage. All biobarrier setups were fed with water containing up to 5,000 µg L−1 of either selenite or selenate and 70 mg L−1 of acetate as a source of organic carbon. Significant removal of selenite and selenate was observed in MEC experimental setups, reaching 99.5–99.8% over the course of the experiment, while in the anaerobic biobarrier the removal efficiency did not exceed 88%. By simultaneously operating several setups and changing operating parameters (selenium species, influent Se and acetate concentrations, etc.) we demonstrated enhanced removal of Se species under bioelectrochemical conditions.

Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a toxic, mobile groundwater contaminant common to military sites. Biodegradation of RDX is an alternative, cost effective and environmentall...

Bioremediation was performed in situ at a former military range site to assess the performance of native bacteria in degrading hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT). The fate of these pollutants in soil and soil pore water was investigated as influenced by waste glycerol amendment to the soil. Following waste glycerol application, there was an accumulation of organic carbon that promoted microbial activity, converting organic carbon into acetate and propionate, which are intermediate compounds in anaerobic processes. This augmentation of anaerobic activity strongly correlated to a noticeable reduction in RDX concentrations in the amended soil. Changes in concentrations of RDX in pore water were similar to those observed in the soil suggesting that RDX leaching from the soil matrix, and treatment with waste glycerol, contributed to the enhanced removal of RDX from the water and soil. This was not the case with 2,4-DNT, which was neither found in pore water nor affected by the waste glycerol treatment. Results from saturated conditions and Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure testing, to investigate the environmental fate of 2,4-DNT, indicated that 2,4-DNT found on site was relatively inert and was likely to remain in its current state on the site.