Influence of sorption on organic contaminant biodegradation
- Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD (United States). Dept. of Geography and Environmental Engineering
- Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States). Center for Biofilm Engineering
- New Jersey Inst. of Tech., Newark, NJ (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Environmental Science
Significant progress has been made toward understanding how to stimulate microbial growth in the subsurface during bioremediation by optimizing the chemical conditions. Hydrophobic organic contaminants, e.g., polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and halogenated aliphatic compounds (HACs), tend to distribute among the solid, liquid, and gas phases within the subsurface such that only a small fraction of these compounds may actually be present in the bulk water phase. For hydrophobic organic contaminants, mass transfer is likely to control the overall rate of bioremediation. Biodegradation rates in the field are significantly slower than in the laboratory because of reduced bioavailability. The influence of sorption on biodegradation is quantified by defining a bioavailability factor, B{sub f}. The B{sub f} is helpful for determining the extent of mass transfer control during biodegradation of organic contaminants.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States); Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 484973
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950483--; ISBN 1-57477-009-8
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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