Microbial Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Degradation in Soil

Research Article

Microbial Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Degradation in Soil

As Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are biological hazards in the environment, the aim of the present investigation is to review their sources, biological and chemical properties and their biodegradation by microorganisms in the soil. The complete degradation of PAHs that originate from various sources require a community of microorganisms. When PAHs are taken by microorganisms, they will be activated in aerobic metabolism by insertion of two oxygen atoms by bacteria and green algae to produce either cis-dihydrodiols or phenols. PAHs may also be activated by cytochrome P₄₅₀ of many fungi and bacteria to produce arene oxides.The activation may also be performed by lignin degrading enzymes to produce quinines. After complete degradation of PAHS in soil, it was found that about 56-77% of the carbon of PAHs is converted to CO₂, 16-35% to microbial biomass and small portion accumulates as intermediate metabolites. It can be concluded that the microbial decontamination of PAHs contaminated soil is an efficient, economic and a good alternative to physiochemical treatments if suitable conditions for the microorganisms are prevailing.

PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

How to cite this article

A.I. Al-Turki, 2009. Microbial Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Degradation in Soil. Research Journal of Environmental Toxicology, 3: 1-8.

DOI: 10.3923/rjet.2009.1.8

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=rjet.2009.1.8

Research Journal of Environmental Toxicology

Article Trend

Total views 674

Search

Authors

A.I. Al-Turki

Keywords

Research Article

Microbial Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Degradation in Soil

How to cite this article

Related Articles

Leave a Comment