Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Bioaugmentation Potential of Locally Isolated Beneficial Microorganisms Consortium for Treatment of Tar-Balls

Oil spills are one of the environmental pollutions that commonly occur along coastal areas. Tar-balls are one of the products that come from the oil spill pollution. In this study, tar-ball pollution was monitored at 10 points along the coastline of Marintaman Beach in Sipitang, Sabah, Malaysia. This research determined the physical characteristics, composition, and concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in tar-balls. The total number of tar-balls collected was 227 (n=227). The tar-balls were observed in various shapes and the sizes were recorded in the range of 0.1 cm to 6.9 cm. The composition and concentration of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the outer and inner layer of tar-balls were determined. The results showed that the main Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) compounds were found in inner layers of the tar-balls with benzo (g,h,i) perylene (72.26 mg/kg), flourene (59.87 mg/kg), dibenzo (a,h) anthracene (44.48 mg/kg), indeno (1,2,3-c,d) pyrene (78.18 mg/kg), and benzo (e) fluoranthene (45.70 mg/kg), respectively. Further research was done with the bioaugmentation study of locally isolated beneficial microorganisms (LIBeM) consortium for treatment of tar-balls in an Aerated Static Pile (ASP) bioreactor system. The results showed that, after 84 days of treatment, this consortium, consisting of C. tropicalis-RETL-Cr1, C. violaceum-MAB-Cr1, and P. aeruginosa-BAS-Cr1, was able to degrade total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) by 84% as compared to natural attenuation (19%). The microbial population of this consortium during the biodegradation study is also discussed in this paper.

OIL POLLUTION OF THE BLACK SEA COAST IN THE AREAS OF THE TSEMES BAY AND THE KERCH STRAIT: LONG-TERM DYNAMICS AND ASSESSMENT OF SELF-CLEANING CAPACITY

The paper examines the results of twelve-year (2007 to 2019) observations of spatial distribution and temporal changes in the concentrations of petroleum components in the coastal waters and sediment cores, as well as in the quantity and composition of oil slicks and tar balls on the beaches, cliffs and solid constructions of the Black Sea coast in the area of the city of Novorossiysk, which is the most important oil seaport of Russia, and in the Kerch Strait. 165 samples of seawater, 24 sediment cores up to 50 cm long split layer-bylayer into 108 samples, and 102 samples of oil slicks and tar balls were taken and analyzed with the use of thin layer and column chromatography, optical and gravimetric methods. The evidences of high level and chronic character of oil pollution of the studied coastal sectors are presented. Much attention is given to the dynamics of the natural transformation of oil slicks and tar balls found on the shore. It is shown that over time, under the influence of natural factors of attenuation, the oil slicks stranded ashore undergo an exponential decrease of the ratio between relatively labile hydrocarbons and conservative asphaltic components in their composition. The rate of the process may vary considerably depending on the size of oil pollution traces, their location on the coastal zone profile, as well as on the climatic, hydrological, and geomorphological conditions. An empirical statistical model is developed on the base of this data. This model makes it possible to classify and to map seacoasts according to their ability to degrade oil pollution using the information on the principal environmental parameters of attenuation.

Exploring wintertime regional haze in northeast China: role of coal and biomass burning

As one of the intense anthropogenic emission regions across the relatively high-latitude (>40∘ N) areas on Earth, northeast China faces the serious problem of regional haze during the heating period of the year. Aerosols in polluted haze in northeast China are poorly understood compared with the haze in other regions of China such as the North China Plain. Here, we integrated bulk chemical measurements with single-particle analysis from transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to obtain morphology, size, composition, aging process, and sources of aerosol particles collected during two contrasting regional haze events (Haze-I and Haze-II) at an urban site and a mountain site in northeast China and further investigated the causes of regional haze formation. Haze-I evolved from moderate (average PM2.5: 76–108 µg m−3) to heavy pollution (151–154 µg m−3), with the dominant PM2.5 component changing from organic matter (OM) (39–45 µg m−3) to secondary inorganic ions (94–101 µg m−3). Similarly, TEM observations showed that S-rich particles internally mixed with OM (named S-OM) increased from 29 % to 60 % by number at an urban site and 64 % to 74 % at a mountain site from the moderate Haze-I to heavy Haze-I events, and 75 %–96 % of Haze-I particles included primary OM. We found that change of wind direction caused Haze-I to rapidly turn into Haze-II (185–223 µg m−3) with predominantly OM (98–133 µg m−3) and unexpectedly high K+ (3.8 µg m−3). TEM also showed that K-rich particles internally mixed with OM (named K-OM) increased from 4 %–5 % by number to 50 %–52 %. The results indicate that there were different sources of aerosol particles causing the Haze-I and Haze-II formation: Haze-I was mainly induced by accumulation of primary OM emitted from residential coal burning and further deteriorated by secondary aerosol formation via heterogeneous reactions; Haze-II was caused by long-range transport of agricultural biomass burning emissions. Moreover, abundant primary OM particles emitted from coal and biomass burning were considered to be one typical brown carbon, i.e., tar balls. Our study highlights that large numbers of light-absorbing tar balls significantly contribute to winter haze formation in northeast China and they should be further considered in climate models.