Studies on transformations of complex pollutants to support bioremediation strategies at contaminated industrial sites in Canada and abroad

An industrial area located in the northeast of Brazil is subjected to bioremediation projects for the decontamination of soil and groundwater of the site. The compounds of interest (COI) are related to the production chain of an herbicide, thus, they are aromatic compounds containing nitro or amino group and/or chlorine. As part of a long-term collaborative research program, our findings have been broadening the understanding of processes involved in the biodegradation of such compounds, contributing to a more successful bioremediation strategy implementation at the site.
During the Ph.D. research under the Mitacs Accelerate program of the proposing intern, native organisms from the impacted site were able to biodegrade or biotransform the COI, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. This proposal seeks to address the remaining gaps not yet solved by previous studies and current questions raised by the research group. Future findings can improve the bioremediation strategies applied not only in the target site but in industrial areas impacted by similar compounds across the world.
In the two-year program, we will maintain and scale up the enriched organisms aiming to achieve complete degradation of COI and develop biomarkers from them that could be used to monitor biodegradation on site.

Faculty Supervisor:

Elizabeth Edwards

Student:

Partner:

Geosyntec Consultants Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

University of Toronto

Program: