TITLE:
Bioremediation of Acetochlor in Soil and Water Systems by Cyanobacterial Mat
AUTHORS:
Yasser El-Nahhal, Yousef Awad, Jamal Safi
KEYWORDS:
Cyanobacterial Mat; Acetochlor; Soil and Water Systems
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.4 No.5,
July
17,
2013
ABSTRACT: This study investigated the bioremediation
of organic pollution in soil and water systems by cyanobacterial mats collected
from Wadi Gaza. Acetochlor, a model compound of herbicide, was used as a
standard organic pollutant. Various concentrations of acetochlor were injected
in soil and water samples pre-treated with cyanobacterial mat for several
periods of time. Percentage of growth of wheat as a test plant was taken as
indicator of bioremediation of acetochlor. Results showed that acetochlor was
degraded in both soil and water systems. Degradation wasmuchfaster
in the water system than in the soil system. Concentrations of acetochlor above
the field rate did not affect the bioremediation process in the water system
whereas it did in soil pots. Furthermore, bioremediation in water system was
nearly completed in 15 days whereas it did not reach high percentagein
the soil system. These encouraging results are new contribution in field of
bioremediation of pesticide by cyanobacterial mats and suggest that application
of cyanobacterial mat could be a fast and suitable methodology for
bioremediation of organic pollutant in the ecosystem.