Anaerobic bioremediation of benzene in petroleum-contaminated aquifers
- Geological Survey, Reston, VA (United States)
Benzene is generally degraded slowly, if at all, under anaerobic conditions in petroleum-contaminated aquifers. However, benzene could be rapidly degraded in a variety of petroleum-contaminated subsurface sediments once the electron acceptor and/or microbial populations were manipulated in ways that enhanced benzene degradation. For example, benzene was rapidly degraded in sediments from the sulfate-reducing and methanogenic zones of a petroleum-contaminated aquifer when a soluble form of Fe(III), Fe(III)-EDTA, was added to the sediments. Unamended sulfate-reducing and methanogenic sediments from the aquifer never adapted to rapid benzene degradation. However, petroleum-contaminated marine sediments were readily adapted for rapid benzene oxidation coupled to sulfate reduction. Inoculation of the aquifer sediments with the benzene-adapted microorganisms from the marine sediments resulted in rapid benzene degradation in the aquifer material under sulfate-reducing conditions. These results suggest that it should be possible to bioremediate petroleum-contaminated aquifers without the necessity of adding O{sub 2}.
- OSTI ID:
- 126332
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950402--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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