  This paper studies the bioremediation techniques utilized for degrading soil
pollutants in a construction site located in Iran. The activities in a
construction site, located in Garmdareh, Karaj, polluted the soil environment
with a large amount of contaminants among which BTEX, PAHs and heavy metals are
considered to be the most important components. Employing conventional
physicochemical techniques for remediation of such a polluted soil is both
technically and economically challenging. Bioremediation, which involves taking
advantage of the microorganisms for the removal of pollutants, is the most
promising technology which is both relatively efficient and cost-effective. In
this study, the coupled bioventing-biosparging technique and the
phytoextraction process were utilized to remediate the deep and shallow layers
of the polluted environment, respectively. However, the widespread presence of
the cement components in the site influenced the performance of bioremediation
techniques. The results of this study indicated that the cement- polluted soil
lowered the degradation rate of both BTEX (Ethylbenzene) and PAH (Pyrene)
pollutants within deep layers. Conversely, the degradation rate of Pb was
increased in phytoextraction process due to proper stabilization of the
surficial soil in presence of cement components. This study provides a critical
view on the limitations and influential parameters of function-directed soil
remediation techniques dealing with the presence of cementitious materials in
construction sites.
