Enhanced bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil using immobilized indigenous degrading bacteria

LIU Huaqing; LIU Tingting; CHEN Jianbin; LIU Suihou; WANG Yanlong; CHENG Dongle; ZHANG Jian

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202610020

Volume 44 Issue 10

Oct. 2026

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LIU Huaqing, LIU Tingting, CHEN Jianbin, LIU Suihou, WANG Yanlong, CHENG Dongle, ZHANG Jian. Enhanced bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil using immobilized indigenous degrading bacteria[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(10): 200-209. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202610020

Citation:

LIU Huaqing, LIU Tingting, CHEN Jianbin, LIU Suihou, WANG Yanlong, CHENG Dongle, ZHANG Jian. Enhanced bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil using immobilized indigenous degrading bacteria[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(10): 200-209. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202610020

Citation:

LIU Huaqing, LIU Tingting, CHEN Jianbin, LIU Suihou, WANG Yanlong, CHENG Dongle, ZHANG Jian. Enhanced bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil using immobilized indigenous degrading bacteria[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(10): 200-209. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202610020

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Enhanced bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soil using immobilized indigenous degrading bacteria

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202610020

LIU Huaqing^1,2,
LIU Tingting^1,2,
CHEN Jianbin^4,5,
LIU Suihou^1,2,
WANG Yanlong^1,2,
CHENG Dongle^1,2,
ZHANG Jian^{1,2,3
,
,}

1. College of Safety and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China;
2. Institute of Yellow River Delta Earth Surface Processes and Ecological Integravity, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao 266590, China;
3. School of Geographical Environment, Shandong Normal University, Ji'nan 250358, China;
4. Yellow River Delta Sustainable Development Institute of Shandong Province, Dongying 257091, China;
5. Dongying Key Laboratory of Ecological Protection and Estuary Management of the Yellow River Delta, Dongying 257091, China

Received Date: 2026-03-30
Available Online: 2026-11-10

Abstract

Abstract

To address the limited environmental adaptability of functional strains during bioaugmentation of contaminated soil， this study investigated how combining indigenous functional strains with immobilization strategies affects their remediation performance in contaminated soil. Using single-cell Raman spectroscopy coupled with heavy-water （D₂O） labeling， a highly active indigenous strain， Bacillus sp. L5， was isolated from PAH-contaminated soil. Strain L5 effectively degraded naphthalene， phenanthrene， and pyrene， and this degradation was accompanied by a marked decrease in organic carbon in the culture system. Under pure-culture conditions， the exogenous strain Stenotrophomonas acidaminiphila 4-1 exhibited PAH degradation capacities comparable to those of L5， and was therefore used as a reference strain. Both strains were immobilized individually on activated carbon， chitosan， and sodium alginate， followed by soil microcosm experiments to compare PAH remediation performance across different strains and immobilization strategies. Immobilization improved PAH remediation by both strains to varying extents， with activated-carbon-immobilized L5 showing the greatest improvement. The half-lives of naphthalene， phenanthrene， and pyrene were shortened to 24.4%， 18.9%， and 27.8% of those values of free L5， and shortened to 23.8%，41.7%，and 23.3% of those values of the activated-carbon-immobilized strain 4-1， respectively. Microbial community analysis showed that the corresponding functional genera maintained relatively high abundances under immobilized conditions. In particular， the relative abundance of Bacillus declined more slowly in the activated-carbon-L5 treatment， consistent with its superior PAH remediation performance. Overall， under the strains and conditions examined here， combining the indigenous functional strain L5 with immobilization effectively enhanced PAH remediation. These findings demonstrate that integrating screening for indigenous functional strains with immobilization provides a feasible strategy for enhancing the bioaugmentation of PAH-contaminated soil.
- single-cell Raman spectroscopy,
- immobilization,
- indigenous microorganism,
- bioaugmentation,
- soil remediation

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References(35)

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