ArticleFrontiers in microbiology2015
The "Oil-Spill Snorkel": an innovative bioelectrochemical approach to accelerate hydrocarbons biodegradation in marine sediments.
Article in Frontiers in microbiology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- Groundwater electro-bioremediation via diffuse electro-conductive zones: A critical review.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2025Review
- An overview of bioelectrokinetic and bioelectrochemical remediation of petroleum-contaminated soils.Environmental science and ecotechnology · 2023Review
- A Review on Biotechnological Approaches Applied for Marine Hydrocarbon Spills Remediation.Microorganisms · 2022Review
- Microbial Electrochemical Technologies for Sustainable Nitrogen Removal in Marine and Coastal Environments.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Treatment of wastewater from petroleum industry: current practices and perspectives.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Review
- Removal of Hepatitis B virus surface HBsAg and core HBcAg antigens using microbial fuel cells producing electricity from human urine.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Survival and Energy Producing Strategies of Alkane Degraders Under Extreme Conditions and Their Biotechnological Potential.Frontiers in microbiology · 2018Review
- Bioelectroventing: an electrochemical-assisted bioremediation strategy for cleaning-up atrazine-polluted soils.Microbial biotechnology · 2018Article
- How to access and exploit natural resources sustainably: petroleum biotechnology.Microbial biotechnology · 2017Article
- Cable Bacteria and the Bioelectrochemical Snorkel: The Natural and Engineered Facets Playing a Role in Hydrocarbons Degradation in Marine Sediments.Frontiers in microbiology · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
This study presents the proof-of-concept of the "Oil-Spill Snorkel": a novel bioelectrochemical approach to stimulate the oxidative biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments. The "Oil-Spill Snorkel" consists of a single conductive material (the snorkel) positioned suitably to create an electrochemical connection between the anoxic zone (the contaminated sediment) and the oxic zone (the overlying O2-containing water). The segment of the electrode buried within the sediment plays a role of anode, accepting electrons deriving from the oxidation of contaminants. Electrons flow through the snorkel up to the part exposed to the aerobic environment (the cathode), where they reduce oxygen to form water. Here we report the results of lab-scale microcosms setup with marine sediments and spiked with crude oil. Microcosms containing one or three graphite snorkels and controls (snorkel-free and autoclaved) were monitored for over 400 days. Collectively, the results of this study confirmed that the snorkels accelerate oxidative reactions taking place within the sediment, as documented by a significant 1.7-fold increase (p = 0.023, two-tailed t-test) in the cumulative oxygen uptake and 1.4-fold increase (p = 0.040) in the cumulative CO2 evolution in the microcosms containing three snorkels compared to snorkel-free controls. Accordingly, the initial rate of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) degradation was also substantially enhanced. Indeed, while after 200 days of incubation a negligible degradation of TPH was noticed in snorkel-free controls, a significant reduction of 12 ± 1% (p = 0.004) and 21 ± 1% (p = 0.001) was observed in microcosms containing one and three snorkels, respectively. Although, the "Oil-Spill Snorkel" potentially represents a groundbreaking alternative to more expensive remediation options, further research efforts are needed to clarify factors and conditions affecting the snorkel-driven biodegradation processes and to identify suitable configurations for field applications.
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