Amanda Stiles, Ph.D.
University of California Berkeley

Lecture for Students and Teachers
Topic: Strategies for the Phytoremediation of Boron and TPH-contaminated Water and Soils
Time: Sep. 2, 2014, 9:00 am.
Place: School of Food and Biological Engineering 203

Abstract:
Phytoremediation is a cost-effective, environmentally-friendly technology for the clean-up of environmental contamination, and it is especially effective for the remediation of large areas. Our research focuses primarily on the phytoremediation of two contaminants from sediment and water, boron (B) and petroleum hydrocarbons. Boron (B) is a contaminant commonly found in effluents produced by coal-fired power plants, and its release into the environment is detrimental to both agriculture and human health. Unfortunately, there are no cost-effective methods for the removal of B from aqueous flows. The goal of this research is to develop a plant-based water treatment system for the cost-effective removal of B from wastewater. Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) are a large family of several hundred hydrocarbons which cause acute and chronic damage to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, even at low contaminant concentrations, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) consist of a group of over 100 different chemicals that have been identified as being carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic. Oil spills associated with oil refineries, pipelines, ships, trucks and trains, result in soil and water contaminated with TPHs and PAHs, and are a major environmental concern. Our research program is focused on the phytorestoration of a 72-acre site located in Bay Point, California. This site is highly saline and contaminated with hydrocarbons, heavy metals. The TPHs in the sediments and soils are mainly diesel and motor oil and, to a lesser extent, gasoline, while the PAHs include both low and high molecular weight compounds. The heavy metal contaminants include Cu, Hg, Pb and Mo. Our research program is a combination of both plant-based and microbially-based approaches to identify the most effective methods to encourage plant establishment and increase the rate of hydrocarbon degradation.


(School of Food and Biological Engineering)