Biodegradation of aged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by microbial consortia in soil and slurry phases

Microbial consortia isolated from aged oil-contaminated soil were used to degrade 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (15.72mgkg−1) in soil and slurry phases. The three microbial consortia (bacteria, fungi and bacteria–fungi complex) could degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and the highest PAH removals were found in soil and slurry inoculated with fungi (50.1% and 55.4%, respectively). PAHs biodegradation in slurry was lower than in soil for bacteria and bacteria–fungi complex inoculation treatments. Degradation of three- to five-ring PAHs treated by consortia was observed in soil and slurry, and the highest degradation of individual PAHs (anthracene, fluoranthene, and benz(a)anthracene) appeared in soil (45.9–75.5%, 62–83.7% and 64.5–84.5%, respectively) and slurry (46.0–75.8%, 50.2–86.1% and 54.3–85.7%, respectively). Therefore, inoculation of microbial consortia (bacteria, fungi and bacteria–fungi complex) isolated from in situ contaminated soil to degrade PAHs could be considered as a successful method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]