Abstract
Chemical analysis of soils contaminated with coal tar indicated that most organic compounds, and particularly PAHs, were contained in coarser particles (> 200 μm). Microscopic observations of this fraction, carried out on polished sections, reported the presence of organic particles in addition to mineral particles. Some organic particles had a very low porosity, and their microstructure did not evolve during biotreatment. Alternatively, other organic particles had a large porosity composed of an interconnected pore network that was open to coal tar surface and thus in contact with soil water. Interconnected porosity seemed to increase during biotreatment in relation to a decrease in the amount of organic compounds. The amount of open porosity in contact with soil water was expected to increase the desorption rate of PAHs. Consequently, the environmental hazard could depend on the amount of open porosity in addition to chemical properties of organic particles, such as their concentration in PAHs. Thus, microscopy can be complementary to chemical analysis and ecotoxicological assays to assess the best strategy for remediation but also to follow the advancement of a biotreatment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Al-Raoush RI (2014) Experimental investigation of the influence of grain geometry on residual NAPL using synchrotron microtomography. J Contamin Hydrol 159:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2014.01.008
Bamforth SM, Singleton I (2005) Bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: current knowledge and future directions. J Chem Technol Biotechnol 80:723–736. https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.1276
Benhabib K, Faure P, Sardin M, Simonnot MO (2010) Characteristics of a solid coal tar sampled from a contaminated soil and the organics transferred into water. Fuel 89:325–359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2009.06.009
Brown DG, Gupta L, Kim TH, Moo-Young HK, Coleman AJ (2006) Comparative assessment of coal tars obtained from 10 former manufactured gas plant sites in the Eastern United States. Chemosphere 62:562–1569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.03.068
Chung N, Alexander M (2002) Effect of soil properties on bioavailability and extractability of phenanthrene and atrazine sequestered in soil. Chemosphere 48:109–115. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(02)00045-0
Eom IC, Rast C, Veber AM, Vasseur P (2007) Ecotoxicity of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soil. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 67:190–205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2006.12.020
EPRI (1993) Chemical and physical characteristics of tar samples from selected manufactured gas plant (MGP) sites. http://www.hawaiidoh.org/references/EPRI%201993.pdf. Accessed 13 April 2017
Ghosh U, Gillette JS, Luthy RG, Zare RN (2000) Microscale location, characterization, and association of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on harbor sediment particles. Environ Sci Technol 34:1729–1736. https://doi.org/10.1021/es991032t
Hu C, Ma H (2016) Statistical analysis of backscattered electron image of hydrated cement paste. Adv Cem Res 28(7):469–474. https://doi.org/10.1680/jadcr.16.00002
ISO (1995) ISO 10694. Soil quality. Determination of organic carbon and total carbon after dry combustion (elementary analysis). International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
ISO (1998) ISO 13877. Soil quality. Determination of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons. method using high-performance liquid chromatography. International Organization for Standardization, Geneva
Johnsen AR, Wick YL, Harms H (2005) Principles of microbial PAH-degradation in soil. Environ Pollut 133:71–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2004.04.015
Igarashi S, Kawamura M, Watanabe A (2004) Analysis of cement pastes and mortars by a combination of backscatter-based SEM image analysis and calculations based on the Powers model. Cem Concr Compos 26:977–985. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2004.02.031
Lamichlane S, Krishna KCB, Sarukkalige R (2016) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) removal by sorption: a review. Chemosphere 148:336–353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.01.036
Lors C, Ponge JF, Damidot D (2010) Comparison of solid-phase bioassays and ecoscores to evaluate the toxicity of contaminated soils. Environ Pollut 158:2640–2647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2010.05.005
Lors C, Ponge JF, Damidot D (2011) Comparison of solid and liquid-phase bioassays using ecoscores to assess contaminated soils. Environ Pollut 159:2974–2981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2011.04.028
Lors C, Ponge JF, Damidot D (2017) Environmental hazard assessment by the Ecoscore system to discriminate PAH-polluted soils. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-9906-4
Mahjoub B, Jayr E, Bayard R, Gourdon R (2000) Phase partition of organic pollutants between coal tar and water under variable experimental conditions. Water Res 34:3551–3560. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(00)00100-7
Nambi MN, Powers SE (2000) NAPL dissolution in heterogeneous systems: an experimental investigation in a simple heterogeneous system. J Contamin Hydrol 44:161–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7722(00)00095-4
Panaitescu C, Predeanu G (2007) Microstructural characteristics of toluene and quinoline-insolubles from coal-tar pitch and their cokes. Int J Coal Geol 71:448–454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2006.11.003
Peijnenburg W, Sneller E, Sijm D, Ljizen J, Traas T, Verbruggen E (2002) Implementation of bioavailability in standard setting and risk assessment. J Soils Sediments 2:169–173. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02991036
Picon-Hernandez HJ, Centeno-Hurtado A, Pantoja-Agreda EF (2008) Morphological classification of coke formed from the Castilla and Jazmín crude oils. Cienc Tecnol Futuro 3:169–183
Rhodes AH, Carlin A, Semple KT (2008) Impact of black carbon in the extraction and mineralization of phenanthrene in soil. Environ Sci Technol 42:740–455. https://doi.org/10.1021/es071451n
Riding MJ, Doick KJ, Martin FL, Jones KC, Semple KT (2013) Chemical measures of bioavailability/bioaccessibility of PAHs in soil: fundamentals to application. J Hazard Mater 261:687–700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.03.033
Semple KT, Morriss AWJ, Paton GI (2003) Bioavailability of hydrophobic organic contaminants in soils: fundamental concepts and techniques for analysis. Eur J Soil Sci 54:809–818. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1351-0754.2003.0564.x
Thiele-Bruhn S, Brümmer GW (2004) Fractionated extraction of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from polluted soils: estimation of the PAH fraction degradable through bioremediation. Eur J Soil Sci 55:567–578. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2389.2004.00621.x
Vulava VM, McKay LD, Driese SG, Menn FM, Sayler GS (2007) Distribution and transport of coal tar-derived PAHs in fine-grained residuum. Chemosphere 68:554–563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.12.086
Vulava VM, McKay LD, Broholm MM, McCarthy JF, Driese SG, Sayler GS (2012) Dissolution and transport of coal tar compounds in fractured clay-rich residuum. J Hazard Mater 203/204:283–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.12.023
White PA, Claxton LD (2004) Mutagens in contaminated soil: a review. Mutat Res 567:227–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mrrev.2004.09.003
Acknowledgements
The present study was performed with a financial support from the ADEME (Agence de l’Environnement et de la Maîtrise de l’Énergie, France), which is greatly acknowledged. We thank Total (France) and Charbonnages de France (France) for putting industrial sites at our disposal.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lors, C., Ponge, JF. & Damidot, D. Microscopy in addition to chemical analyses and ecotoxicological assays for the environmental hazard assessment of coal tar-polluted soils. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 2594–2602 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0693-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0693-8