In 1998 the new main airport of Norway was opened on the Gardermoen aquifer, the largest rain fed unconfined aquifer in Norway, 40 km north of Oslo. The area is a glacial contact formation with sand and gravels dominating near the ground surface. Because of northern climate, every winter large amounts of de-icing chemicals are commonly used in the airport for the removal of snow and ice from airplanes (propylene glycol) and runways (potassium formate). These contaminants are easily degradable by biotic or abiotic factors, but they may still threaten groundwater due to the overloading of the system. Indeed, a lot of de-icing compounds may accumulate in groundwater, which in some points is only at 10 m depth, both for their large used amounts and for the heavy rainfall carrying the pollutant through the soil, permeable to the aquifer. The present study is being performed in the framework of the European research project: “SoilCAM - Soil Contamination: Advanced integrated characterisation and time-lapse Monitoring”. Its overall objective is to determine necessary parameters for designing an optimal combination of invasive and noninvasive methods for monitoring degradable contaminants in spatially variable soil systems. Our research group is involved in soil physical, chemical and biochemical characterization of soil profiles sampled in Gardermoen airport, in monitoring their contaminant contents, and in applying bioremediation techniques such as bacterial cultures able to degrade contaminants. During the first part of study, soil sampling was carried out at the airport near the runways. Samples of soil profiles (about one meter deep) were collected and stored in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, in order to reproduce the same seasonal conditions: aerobic during the warm months and anaerobic during cold months due to a thick layer of ice on the soil surface. In the second part of study, collected soils were fully characterized and the fate of de-icing compounds in the polluted soils evaluated. Physical and chemical properties, such as texture, pH, organic and total carbon, Fe, Mn and pollutant levels, biochemical properties such as the activities of dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase, and microbiological properties were determined. Bacterial cultures capable of degrading propylene glycol and potassium formate were enriched and microorganisms able to grow on propylene glycol were isolated. Molecular probes based on pdu gene sequences for propylene/diol dehydratase were selected in order to perform in situ detection of propylene glycol degrading bacterial communities in soils.
Integrated characterization of Gardermoen airport soil contaminated by propylenglycol and formate / C. Romagnoli, M. Colarieti, G. Toscano, L. Cavalca, V. Andreoni, L. Gianfreda, G. Greco J. r., M.A. Rao. ((Intervento presentato al 26. convegno Convegno Nazionale della Società Italiana di Chimica Agraria tenutosi a Matera nel 2009.
Integrated characterization of Gardermoen airport soil contaminated by propylenglycol and formate
C. RomagnoliPrimo
;L. Cavalca;V. Andreoni;
2009
Abstract
In 1998 the new main airport of Norway was opened on the Gardermoen aquifer, the largest rain fed unconfined aquifer in Norway, 40 km north of Oslo. The area is a glacial contact formation with sand and gravels dominating near the ground surface. Because of northern climate, every winter large amounts of de-icing chemicals are commonly used in the airport for the removal of snow and ice from airplanes (propylene glycol) and runways (potassium formate). These contaminants are easily degradable by biotic or abiotic factors, but they may still threaten groundwater due to the overloading of the system. Indeed, a lot of de-icing compounds may accumulate in groundwater, which in some points is only at 10 m depth, both for their large used amounts and for the heavy rainfall carrying the pollutant through the soil, permeable to the aquifer. The present study is being performed in the framework of the European research project: “SoilCAM - Soil Contamination: Advanced integrated characterisation and time-lapse Monitoring”. Its overall objective is to determine necessary parameters for designing an optimal combination of invasive and noninvasive methods for monitoring degradable contaminants in spatially variable soil systems. Our research group is involved in soil physical, chemical and biochemical characterization of soil profiles sampled in Gardermoen airport, in monitoring their contaminant contents, and in applying bioremediation techniques such as bacterial cultures able to degrade contaminants. During the first part of study, soil sampling was carried out at the airport near the runways. Samples of soil profiles (about one meter deep) were collected and stored in aerobic and anaerobic conditions, in order to reproduce the same seasonal conditions: aerobic during the warm months and anaerobic during cold months due to a thick layer of ice on the soil surface. In the second part of study, collected soils were fully characterized and the fate of de-icing compounds in the polluted soils evaluated. Physical and chemical properties, such as texture, pH, organic and total carbon, Fe, Mn and pollutant levels, biochemical properties such as the activities of dehydrogenase and β-glucosidase, and microbiological properties were determined. Bacterial cultures capable of degrading propylene glycol and potassium formate were enriched and microorganisms able to grow on propylene glycol were isolated. Molecular probes based on pdu gene sequences for propylene/diol dehydratase were selected in order to perform in situ detection of propylene glycol degrading bacterial communities in soils.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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