Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Pilot-scale feasibility of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soil in situ bioremediation

Conference ·
OSTI ID:467773
;  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

An environmental project was conducted to evaluate in situ bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated soils on Kwajalein Island, a US Army Kwajalein Atoll base in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Results of laboratory column studies determined that nutrient loadings stimulated biodegradation rates and that bioremediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils at Kwajalein was possible using indigenous microbes. The column studies were followed by an {approximately}10-month on-site demonstration at Kwajalein to further evaluate in situ bioremediation and to determine design and operating conditions necessary to optimize the process. The demonstration site contained low levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (diesel fuel) in the soil near the ground surface, with concentrations increasing to {approximately}10,000 mg/kg in the soil near the groundwater. The demonstration utilized 12 in situ plots to evaluate the effects of various combinations of water, air, and nutrient additions on both the microbial population and the hydrocarbon concentration within the treatment plots as a function of depth from the ground surface.

OSTI ID:
467773
Report Number(s):
CONF-950483--; ISBN 1-57477-003-9
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English