Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Program

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Supervisor

Ernest Ynaful

Abstract

Desorption of phenanthrene resulting from hydraulic flow is compared to desorption driven by electroosmotic flow with a similar flow rate. The power required for the hydraulic flow test was compared with the consumed power in the electrokinetics test. A novel approach, anode-cathode-compartment (ACC), was proposed to stabilize pH and distribute nutrients in soil in order to enhance electrokinetic bioremediation of soil contaminated with biodegradable compounds. The ACC technique was applied to investigate electrokinetic bioremediation of soil contaminated with phenanthrene. Mycobacterium pallens sp. was used to degrade phenanthrene. Solar energy was used to generate power for the hybrid technique. Three distinct bacterial strains designated as AC16, SM155, and SB53, were subjected to investigation, including ability to grow in liquid medium at different diesel fuel concentrations, identifying functional genes, and the ability to grow at different temperatures and pH. Electrokinetic bioremediation with ACC technique was conducted to mitigate soil contaminated with diesel fuel. The tests were conducted using the novel bacterial strains AC16, SM155 and SB53.

The results showed that, the phenanthrene concentration in effluent samples after desorption by electroosmotic flow was found to be three to four times the concentration after desorption by hydraulic flow. The new ACC technique overcomes the shortcomings of other pH stabilization techniques by stabilizing the pH without the need for pumping or amendments. The use of solar panels as a sole source of power can reduce electricity transmission expenses and eliminate power loss in transmission lines. Diesel degradation in tests conducted with electrokinetic bioremediation was between 20 and 30%.

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