A suitable model to describe bioremediation of a petroleum-contaminated soil

A critical environmental impact of the petroleum industry is the spillage of oil and related products that causes severe soil contamination. Although biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons may be successfully conducted under controlled conditions, the bioremediation of large volumes of contaminated soils still presents some technical challenges, particularly when contamination occurs in soils of high clay content. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated clay-soil by fixed bed experiments. They were conducted in agreement with the full factorial experimental design 23. The processes employed were shown to be highly effective in decontaminating the soil, achieving removal rates of around 80%. The model chosen to represent the bioremediation process provided satisfactory results. The values calculated by the model were consistent with the experimental results.