Evaluación del efecto de la bioestimulación sobre la biorremediación de hidrocarburos en suelos contaminados con alquitrán en Soacha, Cundinamarca-Colombia

Abstract

In this research, the effect of biostimulation on the bioremediation of a soil contaminated with tar generated during the production of artisanal charcoal was evaluated. Eight (8) laboratory mesocosm (n=2) containing tar-contaminated soil (12,000 mgTPH/kgps) taken from an artisanal charcoal factory were evaluated during 60 days under two land farming treatments and two control systems: addition of inorganic compound fertilizer (FIC), addition of urea plus K2HPO4 (U), abiotic control and natural attenuation. In addition, the performance of the bioremediation treatments was evaluated through monitoring of physiochemical (temperature, pH, moisture content, organic carbon, nutrients and total petroleum hydrocarbons-TPHs) and microbiological parameters (heterotrophic plate count microorganisms and degraders of tar). The highest removal percentage of TPH was obtained through FIC treatment (28%), followed by treatment with U (24%) and natural attenuation (6%). It was concluded that the addition of nutrients stimulated a growth in the density of heterotrophic microorganisms and degraders, which optimized the biodegradation process of the soil contaminated with tar, as evidenced by a significant decrease in the concentration of TPH for the treatments at the end of the study.