Application of Biofilm Covered Activated Carbon Particles as a Microbial Inoculum Delivery System in Weather PCB Contaminated Soils Phase 2

Abstract

Recent work with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) contaminated sediments has used activated carbon (AC) to control in situ bioavailability of PCBs, with large reduction in the bioaccumulation of PCBs by aquatic organisms in field studies with sediment treated using 1-5 percent by weight granular activated carbon (GAC) (Ghosh et al., 2011). Sediment treated with GAC attained aqueous equilibrium PCB concentrations that were 85 percent and 92 percent lower than untreated sediment in one-month and six-month contact experiments, respectively (Zimmerman et al., 2004). It has been demonstrated that AC effectively outcompetes solid phases and benthic organisms for PCBs thus reducing PCB exposure to aquatic organisms.