Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils

Nishiwaki, Junko; Kawabe, Yoshishige; Komai, Takeshi; Zhang, Ming

doi:10.3390/geosciences8020035

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils

by

Junko Nishiwaki

¹,

Yoshishige Kawabe

²,

Takeshi Komai

³ and

Ming Zhang

^2,*

¹

College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University, 3-21-1, Chuuo, Ami, Inashiki, Ibaraki 300-0393, Japan

²

Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, 1-1-1, Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8567, Japan

³

Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, 6-6-20, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Geosciences 2018, 8(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020035

Submission received: 4 December 2017 / Revised: 12 January 2018 / Accepted: 18 January 2018 / Published: 23 January 2018

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Hydrology and Erosion)

Download

Browse Figures

Versions Notes

Abstract

Characterizing the mechanisms by which natural microorganisms in soil decompose gasoline hydrocarbons is of fundamental importance for a better understanding of natural attenuation and/or for predicting contaminant transport and fate in soils. To examine whether and how gasoline hydrocarbons can be decomposed under general environmental conditions, the decomposition of 10 major components generally contained in commercially available gasoline was analyzed in three arbitrarily selected Japanese soil samples. Gasoline hydrocarbons, especially aromatic hydrocarbons, are easily adsorbed by the tested Japanese soils, with straight chain hydrocarbons decomposing faster than branched hydrocarbons. Saturated monocyclic hydrocarbons were less easily decomposed than unsaturated monocyclic hydrocarbons. Enhancement of microbial decomposition of gasoline hydrocarbons requires a continuous supply of oxygen together with nutrients for the microorganisms.

Keywords: soil contamination; fate of gasoline hydrocarbons; microbial decomposition; batch experiment; natural attenuation

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Nishiwaki, J.; Kawabe, Y.; Komai, T.; Zhang, M. Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils. Geosciences 2018, 8, 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020035

AMA Style

Nishiwaki J, Kawabe Y, Komai T, Zhang M. Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils. Geosciences. 2018; 8(2):35. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020035

Chicago/Turabian Style

Nishiwaki, Junko, Yoshishige Kawabe, Takeshi Komai, and Ming Zhang. 2018. "Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils" Geosciences 8, no. 2: 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020035

APA Style

Nishiwaki, J., Kawabe, Y., Komai, T., & Zhang, M. (2018). Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils. Geosciences, 8(2), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8020035

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Menu

Decomposition of Gasoline Hydrocarbons by Natural Microorganisms in Japanese Soils

Abstract

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI