Earth Science Frontiers ›› 2022, Vol. 29 ›› Issue (3): 239-247.DOI: 10.13745/j.esf.sf.2022.1.46

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Pollutant distribution and microbial characteristics at a petrochemical site in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

YE Xiangyu1(), CHEN Xuexia1, YU Bo1, ZHANG Min2, GUO Caijuan2, LU Xiaoxia1,*()   

  1. 1. Ministry of Education Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
    2. Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
  • Received:2022-01-15 Revised:2022-02-23 Online:2022-05-25 Published:2022-04-28
  • Contact: LU Xiaoxia

Abstract:

Soils at different depths were collected from three sampling points in an in-service petrochemical site in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Thereafter, the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbons and the microbial community structure in the samples were measured to reveal the pollutant distribution and microbial characteristics. The overall pollution degree of the three points was found to differ; however, the pollutant concentration first increased and then decreased with depth in all cases, with the highest concentration found at the depth of approximately 4.0 m (i.e., near the groundwater level). C6-C9 up to 5302 mg/kg, C10-C40 up to 625.6 mg/kg, aromatic hydrocarbon up to 455.2 mg/kg, and halogenated hydrocarbons up to 41.54 mg/kg were detected in the soils. The richness and diversity of soil microorganisms were found to decrease with an increase in soil depth, and at the same depth, the richness and diversity of the soil microorganisms decreased with an increase in soil pollutant concentration. At the phylum level, the relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Spirochaetes were significantly positively correlated with the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbon (p<0.05). Further, at the genus level, the relative abundances of Streptomyces, SCADC1-2-3, Desulfitobacterium, and Cryptanaerobacter were significantly positively correlated with the concentration of petroleum hydrocarbon (p<0.05).

Key words: petrochemical site, soil, petroleum hydrocarbon, microorganisms, community structure

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