Objective
In several cases biodegradation of low soluble organic contaminants has shown to stop at a certain threshold concentration level. This threshold level is often above guidelines values set by the authorities for the specific contaminants.
Bioremediation which is based on biodegradation therefore cannot meet the guidelines values in such cases. Despite the sustainable approach of bioremediation, the use of such techniques is therefore severely hampered and the existence of threshold phenomena might in the long run restrict on a broader scale the use of these techniques. A likely explanation for the threshold phenomenon is that at a certain concentration there is not sufficient steady supply of substrate because of the lack of contact on a microscale between bacteria and contaminants to sustain the bacterialpopulation. Also limitations in transport and colonization bacteria on a macroscale due to adhesion and suppression of growth and mobility may have severe effects for biodegradation to occur in deeper soil layers.
Most attempts to optimize in situ bioremediation of low soluble contaminants have focused on enhancing the biodegradation processes by adding nutrients, changing redox conditions, or adding different agents to increase solubility of the contaminants. This project follows yet another approach, since the aim is to enhance the transport and mobility of the bacteria responsible for the degradation of the contaminants.
A number of mechanisms potentially influence the bacterial mobility and transport in soil-aquifer systems, of which the most important mechanisms are related to a &esion as a function of primarily cell surface hydrophobicity and cell/surface electrostatic interactions, cell straining, and biologically or ecologically regulated mechanisms, such as motility, chemotaxis, growth, root mediated transport and biological factors controlling cell density and activity.
The current project will investigate some of these factors consideredto control transport and mobility in contaminated soil. Cell diffusion, sedimentation, aggregation, partitioning, and colonization will be measured as a function of identified key factors. The project will be carried out in steps reflected by the work packages. The first step aims at providing the basic requirements for testing bacterial mobility and transport: well-characterised, detectable bacterial strains, soil materials, test tools, models, etc. The next step consists of a number of laboratory studies to investigate and describe the bacterial mobility and transport in soil-aquifer systems as a function of the above mentioned mechanisms and factors. The final step is the pilot scale evaluation of the laboratory findings and test of the possible use of available bioremediation techniques to manipulate with the identified mobility-enhancing factor in a natural soil-aquifer system.
New knowledge on bacterial mobility and transport as an important factor for continuous biodegradation of contaminants in soil-aquifer systems might provide the necessary technical added value to give bioremediation techniques a further step forward.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences geology sedimentology
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology bacteriology
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
2970 Hørsholm
Denmark
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.