Solid phase bioremediation of pendimethalin in contaminated soil and evaluation of leaching potential

Substrate leaching experiments were performed to study the relative leaching potential of pendimethalin in various types of soil matrices. Pendimethalin leaching showed up to a depth of 30 cm in all the studied soil matrices, irrespective of pH conditions used. The leaching potential of pendimethalin was assessed at various pH conditions. Comparatively higher leaching potential was observed in basic conditions compared to the neutral and acid conditions of soil. Soil phase bioremediation of pendimethalin was also performed on all the soil matrices. Among the studied variations, bioremediation experiments performed in presence of sunlight showed higher efficiency. Bioaugmentation along with sunlight showed higher remediation efficiency in all the studied soil matrices. Biostimulation did not respond positively on the progress of bioremediation.