SOLID-PHASE TREATMENT OF A PENTACHLOROPHENOL-CONTAMINATED SOIL USING LIGNIN-DEGRADING FUNGI

The abilities of three lignin-degrading fungi, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, Phanerochaete sordida, and Trametes hirsuta, to deplete pentachlorophenol (PCP) from soil contaminated with PCP and creosote were evaluated. A total of seven fungal and three control treatments were examined for their effect on the soil PCP concentration over eight weeks in two complementary field treatability studies at the Brookhaven Wood Preserving Facility in Brookhaven, MS. The fungi were applied to the soil as pure or mixed cultures at several different inoculum loading levels (inoculum:soil, w/w, dry). Inoculation of soil that contained 672 mug g-1 PCP and 4017 mug g-1 total measured polynuclear aromatic components of creosote with P. sordida at 10% resulted in the greatest decrease in PCP concentration (89%). PCP decreases by P. chrysosporium (67%-72%) or T. hirsuta (55%) at the same inoculum loading level were less extensive. The results of this study demonstrate that with further development, bioaugmentation using lignin-degrading fungi has the potential to be a viable treatment option for the remediation of PCP-contaminated soils.