Electrokinetic Transport of Oil-Degrading Bacteria in Saturated Oil-Contaminated Soil

In this study, three bio-electrokinetic remediation experiments were carried out to study the external delivery of oil-degrading bacteria by electrokinetics and enzyme activities in saturated soil. Results showed that the oil-degrading bacteria could efficiently transport to the saturated oil-contaminated soil by electrophoresis and/or electroosmosis. Bacterial population increased from 6.02-7.75 log (CFU/g) in the control experiment to 8.53-12.83 log (CFU/g) after external bacterial delivery. Under unidirectional operation, the bacterial populations near the electrodes were lower than those in the middle of the soil as a result of unfavorable pH environments. In bidirectional experiment BEK-B, a relatively low bacterial population in the middle of the soil was observed after the experiment. The activities of catalase, polyphenol oxidase, and dehydrogenase have similar trends with bacterial population in the soil, indicating a good relation between the three enzymes and oil biodegradation of oil in soil.