• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.99-112
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• 2020

Rhizoremediation, based on the ecological synergism between plant and rhizosphere microorganisms, is an environmentally friendly method for the remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils. In order to mitigate global climate change, it is necessary to minimize greenhouse gas emissions while cleaning-up contaminated soils. In rhizoremediation, the main factors affecting pollutant remediation efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions include not only pollutant and soil physicochemical properties, but also plant-microbe interactions, microbial activity, and addition of amendments. This review summarizes the development in rhizoremediation technology for purifying oil-contaminated soils. In addition, the key parameters and strategies required for rhizoremediation to mitigate climate change mediation are discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.914-919
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• 2008

This present was carried out to evaluate the adaptability of stabilization method which was used industrial byproducts as the stabilization agency in the abandoned mine site. In order to investigate stabilization effect on As-contaminated soils treated by industrial by-products, batch tests and column tests were carried out with As-contaminated soils collected from farmland around the abandoned mine site. ZVI(zero valent iron) and SRS(steel refining slag) was shown a good treatment effect. After the column test, sequential extraction test and simple bioavailability extraction test(SBET) were carried out to analysis of the soil, and scanning electron micrograph(SEM) analysis was carried out to compare the morphology and structure of ZVI and SRS before and after reacting with arsenic in the soil. As a result, ZVI and SRS were shown 93%, 62% reduction of As concentration respectively by comparison with untreated soils. Therefore, if ZVI and SRS are used as treatment materials in As-contaminated soils, it is expected that the As leaching from soils is reduced effectively.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.83-89
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• 2015

Soil samples collected in an area of Gahak Mine were investigated for the characterization of mineralogical and physicochemical properties of contaminants in soils. It is found that soils in the study area are contaminated by lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), in which their concentrations are 595.3 mg/kg, 184.9 mg/kg, 712.8 mg/kg, and 10.64 mg/kg, respectively. All the concentrations exceed the concern criteria of Korean standard. Upon distribution patterns of metals identified by the sequential extraction procedure, our results show that more than 50% of metals are found as a residual type, and 30% are accounted for the association of Fe/Mn oxides. Interestingly, XRD results show that minium (Pb₃O₄) and cuprite (Cu₂O) are identified in the soil samples, suggesting that the sources of the contaminants for Pb and Cu are these minerals. In SEM images, tens of µm of Pb oxides and Pb silicate-minerals are observed. We, therefore, note that the contamination of metals in the study area results from the direct influx and disturbance of tailings. Our findings indicate that the characterization of physicochemical and mineralogical properties of contaminated soils is a critical factor and plays an important role in optimizing recovery treatments of soils contaminated in mine development areas.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2014

A bacterial strain with the potential ability to solubilize heavy metals was isolated from heavy metal contaminated soils collected from abandoned mines of Boryeong area in South Korea. The bacterial strain with the highest degree of metal resistance was shown to have close proximity with Shewanella xiamenensis FJ589031, according to 16S rRNA sequence analysis, and selected for investigating the mobilization of metals in soil or plant by the strain. The strain was found to be capable of solubilizing metals both in the absence and in the presence of metals (Co, Pb and Cd). Metal mobilization potential of the strain was assessed in a batch experiment and the results showed that inoculation could increase the concentrations of water soluble Co, Pb and Cd by 48, 34 and 20% respectively, compared with those of non-inoculated soils. Bacterial-assisted growth promotion and metal uptake in sunflower (Helianthus annuus) was evaluated in a pot experiment. In comparison with non-inoculated seedlings, the inoculation led to increase the growth of H. annuus by 24, 18 and 16% respectively in Co, Pb and Cd contaminated soils. Moreover, enhanced accumulation of Co, Pb and Cd in the shoot and root systems was observed in inoculated plants, where metal translocation from root to the above-ground tissues was also found to be enhanced by the strain. Plant growth promotion and metal mobilizing potential of the strain suggest that the strain could effectively be employed in enhancing phytoextraction of Co, Pb and Cd from contaminated soils.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.179-188
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• 2018

BACKGROUND: Reclamation of heavy metal-contaminated agricultural fields has intensively been done to ensure the soil quality and food security. This study evaluated the efficiency and longevity of current physical and chemical approaches for heavy metal-contaminated soils. METHODS AND RESULTS: Concentrations of 0.1 N HCl-leachable trace metals of Cd, Pb, and As from the stabilizing agents-treated soils decreased by 50%, 70%, and 40%, respectively, compared to the control. Among the stabilizing agents, the $CaCO_3$ was the best for stabilization. For physical stabilization, the soil dressing reduced the concentrations of Cd, Pb, and As by 88%, 94%,and 88%, respectively, compared to the control. Moreover, the dilution of the contaminated soils decreased the metals by an average of 25.3% when compared with the control. The longevity of each stabilization method was determined by using the availability assessment of heavy metals in the soils. Results showed that the leaching methods using HCl and $NH_4NO_3$ had 120 and 32 weeks longevity, respectively. Interestingly, any stabilization efficacy was not found over the time for Cd and Pb (i.e., cation metals), whereas the stabilization efficacy of As was sharply decreased under 50% after 32 weeks. However, the change of metal concentration was not significant with the physical stabilization compared to the chemical stabilization. CONCLUSION: The stabilization methods should carefully be selected based on long-term monitoring under climate conditions.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.541-546
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• 2012

The biodegradation of phenol in laboratory-contaminated soil was investigated using the Gram-positive soil bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum. This study showed that the phenol degradation caused by C. glutamicum was greatly enhanced by the addition of 1% yeast extract. From the toxicity test using Daphnia magna, the soil did not exhibit any hazardous effects after the phenol was removed using C. glutamicum. Additionally, the treatment of the phenol-contaminated soils with C. glutamicum increased various soil amino acid compositions, such as glycine, threonine, isoleucine, alanine, valine, leucine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine. This phenomenon induced an increase in the seed germination rate and the root elongation of Avena sativa (oat). This probably reflects that increased soil amino acid composition due to C. glutamicum treatment strengthens the plant roots. Therefore, the phenol-contaminated soil was effectively converted through increased soil amino acid composition, and additionally, the phenol in the soil environment was biodegraded by C. glutamicum.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.203-215
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• 2011

Geochemical and mineralogical properties of a contamited soil should be taken into account to decide a remediation strategy for a given contaminant because development and optimization of soil remedial technologies are based on geochemical and mineralogical separation techniques. The objective of this study was to investigate the geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of arsenic-contaminated soils. The arsenic-contaminated soil samples were obtained from Chonam gold mine, Gwangyang, Chonnam, Particle size analysis, sequential extraction, and mineralogical analyses were used to characterize geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of the As-contaminated soils. Particle size analyses of the As-contaminated soils showed the soils contained 17-36% sand, 25-54% silt, 9-28% clay and the soil texture were sandy loam, loam, and silt loam. The soil pH ranged from 4.5 to 6.6. The amount of arsenic concentrations from the sequential soil leaching is mainly associated with iron oxides (1 to 75%) and residuals (12 to 91%). Major minerals of sand and silt fractions in the soils were feldspar, kaolinite, mica, and quartz and minor mineral of which is an iron oxide. Major minerals of clay fraction were composed of illite, kaolinite, quartz, and vermiculite. And minor minerals are iron oxide and rutile. The geochemical and mineralogical analyses indicated the arsenic is adsorbed or coprecipitated with iron oxides or phyllosilicate minerals. The results may provide understanding of geochemical and mineralogical characteristics for the site remediation of arsenic-contaminated soils.

• Magazine of the Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.112-122
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• 1998

Measurement of electrical resistivity in soils has been used for many years with purpose of estimating in situ porosity or density. Recently electrical resistivity has also been used as an indicator of soil contaimination. This paper presents the result of laboratory experiment to investigate the resistivity variation in contaminated sandy soils. The results can be used with the Cone Penetrometer Test (CPT) result to analyse ground condition. In the experiment, the water content and leachate concentration of soils were controlled by groundwater and leachate, and then the resistivity measurement was made with 'STING-R1' by Advanced Geosciences Inc. In the case of using groundwater, the resistivity was in the range of over 1000${\omega}{\cdot}m$, but in the case of using polluted water by leachate, the resistivity decreased significantly down to 10~ 100${\omega}{\cdot}m$ for the same moisture content. Also the resistivity varied according to the degree of saturatrion. Therefore, if soil is contaminated by leachate, the CPT with electrical resistivity sensor might be used to investigate the contamination status and plume migration. But exact component of leachate and the pollutant concentration are still hard to identify.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.239-244
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• 2009

In this study, to stabilize the heavy metal in the contaminated soils, the column leaching test based on rainfall and pH value was performed by using coal mine drainage sludge(CMDS): which was generated during electrical purification of abandoned coal mine wastewater. Four types of testing column were used in this study. That were the CMDS and the heavy metal contaminated soils well mixed in 0 wt%, 1 wt%, 3 wt% and 3 wt% layered column. According to the investigation, when the influent pH was $5.5{\sim}6.2$, there were no heavy metal elution at all conditions, and when the influent pH was $3{\sim}3.3$, the order of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr elution concentration was 3 wt% M(mixed)<3 wt% S(separation)<1 wt% M<0 wt% and the average elution concentration was quite low, the value was 0.005 mg/L. Therefore, CMDS can used as new stabilizer of the heavy metal in the contaminated soils.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.36-46
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• 2021

The Soil Health Index (SHI) developed by Park et al. (2021) is used to evaluate soil health on remediated soils collected from several remediation project sites and monitored the changes of SHI during the remediation process of land farming, soil washing, and thermal desorption. In the case of land farming, the soils remediated below a legal standard didn't show any significant changes in indices of SHI except the downgrade of available phosphate from medium to a low level. The SHI scores were ranged from 52 to 56 in the contaminated soil and 54 to 57 in the remediated soil. With soil washing, bulk density changed from high to a low level, and available phosphate was lowered from medium to low level. As the SHI scores were evaluated as 58 to 63 for contaminated soil and 38 to 42 for remediated soils. For thermal desorption, soil respiration rate was reduced from high to low level and SHI was scored as 50 to 51 for contaminated soils and 43 to 47 for remediated soils. Even though any abrupt changes of the SHI in remediated soils were not identified in the soils used in this study, it is expected that soil in different conditions such as types and concentrations of contaminant and soil characteristics would result in distinguished changes of the SHI. There is a room for more studies collect diverse information on SHI across the country.