Biodegradation of naphthalene from nonaqueous-phase liquids
- Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Colorado School of Mines, Boulder, CO (United States). Environmental Science and Engineering Dept.
Dissolution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a non-aqueous-phase liquid (NAPL) to the aqueous phase renders these compounds bioavailable to microorganisms. Subsequent biodegradation of organic phase PAH then results in a depletion of PAH from the NAPL. This study focuses on identifying the rate-controlling processes affecting naphthalene biomineralization from a complex multicomponent NAPL, coal tar, and a simple two-component NAPL. A simplified dissolution degradation model is presented to identify quantitative criteria to assess whether mass transfer or biokinetic limitations control the overall rate of biotransformation of PAH compounds. Results show that the rate of mass transfer may control the overall rate of biotransformation in certain systems. Mass transfer does not limit biodegradation in slurry systems when coal tar is distributed in the micropores of a large number of small microporous silica particles. The end points of naphthalene degradation from the NAPLs have been evaluated, and results suggest that depletion of a significant mass of naphthalene from the NAPL phase is possible.
- OSTI ID:
- 484951
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950483--; ISBN 1-57477-009-8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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