CEE Researchers Find Corn Kernels Could Help Clean Up Toxic PCB Chemicals

Corn kernels may be part of a cost-effective solution to clean up toxic PCB chemicals found all around us, engineering researchers at the University of Iowa have found. 

Led by Qin Dong, a PhD candidate in environmental engineering; Gregory LeFevre, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Timothy Mattes, Donald E. Bently Professor in Engineering; the Iowa research team is refining a process of bioremediation in which microbes are used to break down pollutants.

Corn kernels may be part of a cost-effective solution to clean up toxic PCB chemicals found all around us, engineering researchers at the University of Iowa have found.

Led by Qin Dong, a PhD candidate in environmental engineering; Gregory LeFevre, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Timothy Mattes, Donald E. Bently Professor in Engineering; the Iowa research team is refining a process of bioremediation in which microbes are used to break down pollutants.

They found promising evidence when they mixed charcoal-like material, or biochar, from corn kernels with bacteria known to degrade polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs.

PCBs are chemicals that are toxic to human and environmental health. Despite being banned in 1979, they remain prevalent due to more than a half century of heavy use in commercial and industrial processes. Existing remediation strategies, which can include dredging the bottom of a body of water, are either costly, only partially effective, or come with side effects. 

During the study, the mixture with corn kernel biochar proved most promising among a variety of combinations at supporting bacteria cells and bacterial genes known to degrade PCBs.

The authors concluded this method of bioremediation could be more effective at removing PCBs at a lower cost and with less environmental disruption than current practices, ultimately benefiting public health and ecosystems.  

The findings were published in Environmental Science & Technology, a peer-reviewed journal, and featured as the paper of the month in May by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

In January, NIEHS Superfund Research Program featured a separate but related research project of Mattes as the research brief of the month. The project found promise in mapping interactions between microbes that may support the growth of certain bacteria that degrade PCBs, potentially leading to improved bioremediation.