Skip to main content
Log in

Biogreen remediation of chromium-contaminated soil using Pseudomonas sp. (RPT) and neem (Azadirachta indica) oil cake

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The prospective of indigenous Pseudomonas sp. (RPT) and neem oil cake for enhanced removal of chromium (Cr) from contaminated soil microcosm was explored in this study. The bacteria were isolated from Cr-contaminated soil and identified as Pseudomonas sp. based on partial 16S rDNA sequencing. The isolate RPT showed high Cr(VI) tolerance (1000 mg/l) and removal rate (64.4%) in batch experiments. Transmission electron microscopy observation showed that the isolate effectively precipitated the Cr both intra- and extracellularly. Microcosm studies revealed that neem oil cake amendment (7.5% w/v) enhanced Cr(VI) removal (82%) from contaminated soil. Furthermore, soil enzyme activities were increased in the biostimulated soil. The obtained results indicated that the application of neem oil cake along with indigenous Cr(VI)-resistant bacteria could inspire the bioremediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated soil field scale.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ali I, Khan TA, Asim M (2011) Removal of arsenic from water by electrocoagulation and electrodialysis techniques. Sep Purif Rev 40:25–42

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bader JL, Gonzalez G, Goodell PC, Ali A, Pillai SD (1999) Chromium resistant bacterial populations from a site heavily contaminated with hexavalent chromium. Water Air Soil Pollut 109:263–274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balasubramanian A, Siddaramappa R, Rangaswami G (1972) Effect of organic manuring on the activities of the enzymes hydrolyzing sucrose and urea and on soil aggregation. Plant Soil 37:319–328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brierley CL, Briggs AP, Mular AL, Halbe DN, Barret DJ (2002) Mineral processing plant design, practice and control. Society of Mining Engineers, Littleton, Colo, pp 1540–1568

    Google Scholar 

  • Chai L, Huang S, Yang Z, Peng B, Huang Y, Chen Y (2009) Cr(VI) remediation by indigenous bacteria in soils contaminated by chromium-containing slag. J Hazard Mater 167:516–522

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Christl M, Imseng E, Tatti J, Frommer C, Viti L, Giovannetti R (2012) Aerobic reduction of chromium (VI) by Pseudomonas corrugata 28: influence of metabolism and fate of reduced chromium. Geomicrobiol J 29:173–185

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Das S, Mishra J, Das SK, Pandey S, Rao DS, Chakraborty A, Sudarshan M, Das N, Thatoi H (2014) Investigation on mechanism of Cr(VI) reduction and removal by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, a novel chromate tolerant bacterium isolated from chromite mine soil. Chemosphere 96:112–121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galstyan AS (1965) A method of determining the activity of the hydrolytic enzymes in soil. Sov Soil Sci 2:170–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaudette HE, Flight WR, Toner L, Folger DW (1974) An inexpensive titration method for the determination of organic carbon in recent sediments. J Sediment Res 44:249–253

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Govarthanan M, Lee KJ, Cho M, Kim JS, Kamala-Kannan S, Oh BT (2013) Significance of autochthonous Bacillus sp. KK1 on biomineralization of lead in mine tailings. Chemosphere 90:2267–2272

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Govarthanan M, Lee GW, Park JH, Kim JS, Lim SS, Seo SK, Cho M, Myung H, Kamala-Kannan S, Oh BT (2014) Bioleaching characteristics, influencing factors of Cu solubilisation and survival of Herbaspirillum sp. GW103 in Cu contaminated mine soil. Chemosphere 109:42–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Govarthanan M, Park SH, Park YJ, Myung H, Krishnamurthy RR, Lee SH, Kamala-Kannan S, Oh BT (2015) Lead biotransformation potential of allochthonous Bacillus sp. SKK11 with sesame oil cake extract in mine soil. RSC Adv 5:54564–54570

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Govarthanan M, Mythili R, Selvankumar T, Kamala-Kannan S, Kim H (2018) Myco-phytoremediation of arsenic and lead contaminated soils by Helianthus annuus and wood rot fungi, Trichoderma sp. isolated from decayed wood. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 151:279–284

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Helmke PA, Sparks DL (1996) Lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, and cesium. Methods Soil Anal 3:551–574

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang H, Wu K, Khan A, Jiang Y, Ling Z, Liu P, Chen Y, Tao X, Li X (2016) A novel Pseudomonas gessardii strain LZ-E simultaneously degrades naphthalene and reduces hexavalent chromium. Bioresour Technol 207:370–378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ill FG, Clausen CA, Highley TA (1989) Adaptation of the Nelson–Somogyi reducing sugar assay to a microassay using microtiter plates. Anal Biochem 182:197–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeyasingh J, Philip L (2005) Bioremediation of chromium contaminated soil: optimization of operating parameters under laboratory conditions. J Hazard Mater 118:113–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeyasingh J, Somasundaram V, Philip L, Murty Bhallamudi S (2010) Bioremediation of Cr(VI) contaminated soil/sludge: experimental studies and development of a management model. Chem Eng J 160:556–564

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kamala-Kannan S, Lee KJ, Krishnamoorthy R, Purusothaman A, Shanthi K, Rao NR (2007) Aerobic chromate reducing Bacillus cereus isolated from the heavy metal contaminated Ennore Creek sediment, north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, south east India. Res J Microbiol 2:133–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kandeler E (1996) Urease activity by colorimetric technique. Methods in soil biology. Springer, New York, pp 171–174

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley WD, Rodriguez-Kabana R (1975) Effects of potassium azide on soil microbial populations and soil enzymatic activities. Can J Microbiol 21:565–570

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu YG, Xu WH, Zeng GM, Tang CF, Li CF (2004) Experimental study on reduction by Pseudomonas aeuroginosa. J Environ Sci 16:797–801

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loring DH, Rantala RTT (1992) Manual for the geochemical analysis of marine sediments and suspended particulate matter. Earth-Sci Rev 32:235–283

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood S, Khalid A, Arshad M, Ahmad R (2015) Effect of trace metals and electron shuttle on simultaneous reduction of reactive black-5 azo dye and hexavalent chromium in liquid medium by Pseudomonas sp. Chemosphere 138:895–900

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Megharaj M, Avudainayagam S, Naidu R (2003) Toxicity of hexavalent chromium and its reduction by bacteria isolated from soil contaminated with tannery waste. Curr Microbiol 47:51–54

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nies DH (2003) Efflux-mediated heavy metal resistance in prokaryotes. FEMS Microbiol Rev 27:313–339

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ok YS, Kim SC, Kim DK, Skousen JG, Lee JS, Cheong YW, Kim SJ, Yang JE (2011) Ameliorants to immobilize Cd in rice paddy soils contaminated by abandoned metal mines in Korea. Environ Geochem Health 33:23–30

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ozturk S, Kaya T, Aslim B, Tan S (2012) Removal and reduction of chromium by Pseudomonas sp. and their correlation to rhamnolipid production. J Hazard Mater 231:64–69

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pattanapipitpaisal P, Brown NL, Macaskie LE (2001) Chromate reduction and 16S rRNA identification of bacteria isolated from a Cr(VI)-contaminated site. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 57:257–261

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rieger A, Sax C, Bauert T, Wackerlin C, Ernst KM (2018) Chemical chiral pollution: impact on the society and science and need of the regulations in the 21st century. Chirality 30:402–406

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Robati D, Mirza B, Rajabi M, Moradi O, Gupta VK (2016) Removal of hazardous dyes-BR 12 and methyl orange using graphene oxide as an adsorbent from aqueous phase. J Colloid Interface Sci 284:687–697

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saravanan R, Joicy S, Gupta VK, Narayanan V, Stephen A (2013a) Visible light induced degradation of methylene blue using CeO2/V2O5 and CeO2/CuO catalysts. Mater Sci Eng C 33:4725–4731

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saravanan R, Karthikeyan N, Gupta VK, Thirumal E, Stephen A (2013b) ZnO/Ag nanocomposite: an efficient catalyst for degradation studies of textile effluents under visible light. Mater Sci Eng C 33:2235–2244

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saravanan R, Mansoob Khan M, Gupta VK, Mosquera E, Gracia F, Narayanan V, Stephen A (2015) ZnO/Ag/CdO nanocomposite for visible light-induced photocatalytic degradation of industrial textile effluents. J Colloid Interface Sci 452:126–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Selvankumar T, Radhika R, Mythili R, Arunprakash S, Srinivasan P, Govarthanan M, Kim M (2017) Isolation identification and characterization of arsenic transforming exogenous endophytic Citrobacter sp. RPT from roots of Pterisvittata. 3 Biotech 7:264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava S, Thakur IS (2006) Evaluation of bioremediation and detoxification potentiality of Aspergillus niger for removal of hexavalent chromium in soil microcosm. Soil Biol Biochem 38:1904–1911

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Suja F, Rahim F, Taha MR, Hambali N, Razali MR, Khali A, Hamzah A (2014) Effects of local microbial bioaugmentation and biostimulation on the bioremediation of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) in crude oil contaminated soil based on laboratory and field observations. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 90:115–122

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sundaramoorthy B, Thiagarajan K, Mohan S, Mohan S, Rajendra Rao P, Ramamoorthy S, Chandrasekaran R (2016) Biomass characterization and phylogenetic analysis of microalgae isolated from estuaries: role in phycoremediation of tannery effluent. Algal Res 14:92–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabatabai MA (1994) Soil enzymes. In: Weaver RW, Angel JS, Bottomley PS (eds) Methods of soil analysis, part 2—microbiological and biochemical properties. Book series no. 5. Soil Science Society of America, SSSA, Madison, pp 775–833

    Google Scholar 

  • Thacker U, Parikh R, Shouche Y, Madamwar D (2007) Reduction of chromate by cell-free extract of Brucella sp. isolated from Cr(VI) contaminated sites. Bioresour Technol 98:1541–1547

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas GW (1996) Soil pH and soil acidity. In: Sparks DL (ed) Methods of soil analysis. Part 3. Chemical methods. SSSA-ASA, Madison, pp 475–490

    Google Scholar 

  • Viti C, Pace A, Giovannetti L (2003) Characterization of Cr(VI) resistant bacteria isolated from chromium contaminated soil by tannery activity. Curr Microbiol 46:1–5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu G, Kang H, Zhang X, Shao H, Chu L, Ruan C (2010) A critical review on the bio-removal of hazardous heavy metals from contaminated soils: issues, progress, eco-environmental concerns and opportunities. J Hazard Mater 174:1–8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng Z, Li Y, Zhang X, Liu P, Ren J, Wu G, Zhang Y, Chen Y, Li X (2015) A Bacillus subtilis strain can reduce hexavalent chromium to trivalent and an nfrA gene is involved. Int Biodeterior Biodegrad 97:90–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

This paper was supported by research funds of Chonbuk National University in 2017. The authors (Fuad Ameen & Sami A. AlYahya) are very grateful to the Localization and Development Technology Platform for the Infectious Diseases Surveillance and the Detection Project at Kind Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Kamala-Kannan.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interest.

Additional information

Editorial responsibility: M. Abbaspour.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Govarthanan, M., Selvankumar, T., Mythili, R. et al. Biogreen remediation of chromium-contaminated soil using Pseudomonas sp. (RPT) and neem (Azadirachta indica) oil cake. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 4595–4600 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-2136-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-2136-6

Keywords

Navigation