The impact of Cinnamomum camphora on the dissipation of PAHs in diesel contaminated soils from China

• Nirita Giri ^[1] ; Zhu Fan ^[2] ; Thomas Korimort ; Monika Sieghardt ^[1] ; Axel Mentler ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

     University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

     Innere Stadt, Austria

     
  2. [2] Central South University of Forestry and Technology

     Central South University of Forestry and Technology

     China

     
• Localización: Spanish Journal of Soil Science: SJSS, ISSN-e 2253-6574, Vol. 4, Nº. 2, 2014, págs. 192-203
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • O impacto de Cinnamomum camphora na dissipação de PAHs em solos da China contaminados com diesel
  • El impacto de Cinnamomum camphora en la disipación de los HAPs en suelos de China contaminados con diesel
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• Resumen

  • The ongoing urbanization has led to worldwide increase of diesel consumption resulting in several environmental problems like air, water and soil pollution. Diesel comprises polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which, via various vectors like insufficient combustion, accidents, etc., are subsequently deposited in the soil because of their hydrophobicity and low water solubility. Uncontaminated agricultural or urban soils are of great importance as they have a direct impact on food security and human health. Sixteen of the PAHs have been listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as ‘priority pollutants’ because of their mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. The removal of PAHs from the environment through phytoremediation is a growing concern and scientific interest. The main objective of this study was to investigate the phytoremediation capacity of the evergreen tree species Cinnamomum camphora for the dissipation and degradation of several PAHs of different chemical structure. A pot experiment was established with artificially diesel contaminated soil from Changsa, China. The experimental design included three different diesel contents with and without tree-plantation. An extraction method and an HPLC separation method with different detectors was developed and applied for the analysis of soil samples. The analytical results revealed that Cinnamomum camphora enhances removal of selected PAHs from the contaminated soil with reduction of 91.1% to 98.8% as well as dissipation of persistent PAHs with 4 total and aromatic rings. However a confirmative study is suggested to understand whether the dissipation effect is due to rhizosphere bacteria or combined effect of several factors.