The cellulosic fabrics cotton, rayon, and Tencel® are commonly used in the textile industry (Kroschwitz, 1990). The chemical composition of the fabrics is similar, but they differ in the arrangement of the cellulose polymers in the fabrics (Collier and Tortora, 2001). The basic polymer for all cellulosic fibers consists of repeating glucose units. For the cotton fabric, the cellulosic polymers ...

An enrichment culture technique was used to isolate bacterial strains responsible for the biodegradation of profenofos in a soil from Hubei province of central China. Two pure bacterial cultures, named W and Y, were isolated and subsequently characterized by sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and biochemical tests. Isolate W showed 96% similarity to the 16S rRNA gene of a Pseudomonas putida unlike Y ...

The high hydrophobicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) strongly reduces their bioavailability in aged contaminated soils, thus limiting their bioremediation. The biodegradation of PAHs in soils can be enhanced by employing surface-active agents. However, chemical surfactants are often recalcitrant and exert toxic effects in the amended soils. The effects of two biogenic materials as...

4 LIST OF ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS 5 THE AUTHOR’S CONTRIBUTION 5

Vertical and horizontal spatial variability in the biodegradation of the herbicide bentazone was compared in sandy-loam soil from an agricultural field using sieved soil, which represents the method most widely used to investigate biodegradation rates, and intact soil cores. An initial experiment compared degradation at 5 depths between 0 and 80 cm using sieved soil. Degradation was shown to fo...

Atrazine (ATZ) and S-metolachlor (S-MET) are two herbicides widely used, often as mixtures. The present work examined whether the presence of S-MET affects the ATZ-biodegradation activity of the bioaugmentation bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP in a crop soil. S-MET concentrations were selected for their relevance in worst-case scenarios of soil contamination by a commercial formulation cont...

We collected urban soil samples impacted by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a sorbent-based remediation field trial to address concerns about unwanted side-effects of 2% powdered (PAC) or granular (GAC) activated carbon amendment on soil microbiology and pollutant biodegradation. After three years, total microbial cell counts and respiration rates were highest in the GAC amended so...

Sterilized soils are commonly used for the study of xenobiotic sorption and as an abiotic control in biodegradation experiments. They are also used for the chemical study of nitrogen and carbon cycle processes and the elimination of the biological factors. In this research the effects of different soil sterilization methods such as autoclaving, fumigating and exposure to ultraviolet and microwa...

The bioremediation of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) contaminated soil was performed on a laboratory scale. To compare bioremediation methods, a soil slurry reactor and a soil column reactor were operated and the effects of supplemental sources were investigated. Optimal conditions for the two bioremediation systems for the removal of TNT were obtained. In the soil slurry reactor, about 60% of the...