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Tolerance of Earthworms in Soil Contaminated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon

Author(s): Rubiyatno 1 , Zee Chuang Teh 2 , Diah Velentina Lestari 3 , Arma Yulisa 4 , Muthah Musa 5 , Tse-Wei Chen 6 , Noura M. Darwish 7 , Bandar M. AlMunqedhi 8 , Tony Hadibarata 9
Author(s) information:
1 Integrated Graduate School of Medicine, Engineering, and Agricultural Sciences, University of Yamanashi, Japan.
2 School of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor, Malaysia.
3 Division of Environment and Sustainability, The Hongkong Univesity of Science and Technology, Hongkong.
4 Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Gyeongbuk 790-784, Republic of Korea.
5 Australian Centre for Water and Environmental Biotechnology (ACWEB), The University of Queensland, Level 4 Gehrmann Laboratories Building, Research Rd, St Lucia QLD 4067, Australia.
6 Department of Materials, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
7 College of Sciece, Ai Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
8 Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
9 Environmental Engineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Science, Curtin University, CDT250, Malaysia.

Corresponding author

Pyrene is a very resistant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with four benzene rings that survives in the environment. This study was aimed at investigating the tolerance of earthworms in soil contaminated with pyrene. The studies were performed by employing earthworms gathered from shady regions adjacent to sewage ponds as pyrene degraders to eradicate pyrene from the soil. Numerous factors affecting pyrene degradation efficiency were explored, including the effect of contaminant concentration, earthworm and soil ration, and soil condition. The highest pyrene removal (31.2%) was shown by earthworms in the condition of soil mixed with cow dung. Pyrene decomposition was inhibited during soil sterilization due to the absence of soil microorganisms and indigenous pyrene-degrading bacteria. Nonetheless, earthworms are suitable for use as pyrene degraders in contaminated soil.

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About this article

SUBMITTED: 05 February 2022
ACCEPTED: 25 March 2022
PUBLISHED: 5 April 2022
SUBMITTED to ACCEPTED: 48 days
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v2i1.62

Cite this article
Rubiyatno, Teh, Z. C., Lestari, D. V., Yulisa, A., Musa, M., Chen, T.-W., Darwish, N. M., AlMunqedhi, B. M., & Hadibarata, T. (2022). Tolerance of Earthworms in Soil Contaminated with Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon. Industrial and Domestic Waste Management, 2(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.53623/idwm.v2i1.62
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