Enhancement of aerobic microbial degradation of polychlorinated biphenyl in soil microcosms

This article reports the results of various biodegradation experiments on polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)‐contaminated sandy soil employing a mixed culture of acclimatized bacteria. Following the optimization of different variables without chemical pretreatment, the elimination rate achieved of Aroclor® 1242 in slurry‐phase reactors was 61% after four months of treatment, with the presence of biphenyl as cosubstrate being the most important factor affecting PCB biodegradation. The biodegradation occurred as a first‐order process, and it proved most effective in respect to dichlorinated biphenyls (100% removal), followed by trichlorinated (92%) and tetrachlorinated biphenyls (24%). The results also showed that the degradability of PCBs in soil may be enhanced by an advanced oxidation pretreatment (Fenton reaction), producing almost 100% elimination of PCBs at the end of the integrated chemical‐biological process and 72% mineralization of the intermediates generated during the chemical pretreatment.