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

On-line monitoring of aerobic bioremediation with bioluminescent reporter microbes. Final report, July 1991--December 1994

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/642697· OSTI ID:642697

A critical issue in the biological characterization of contaminated sites and in the evaluation of relative bioremediation treatment efficiencies is the development of appropriate monitoring methods for the assessment of pollutant bioavailability and microbial in situ activity potential. In nature, pollutants are found dispersed among the solid, liquid and gaseous phases of the complex environments rendering the analytical estimation of their bioavailability and degradation more difficult and irrelevant. Ex situ and extractive analytical techniques have only been misrepresentative of the natural conditions and often resulted in inaccurate estimates of pollutants mass transfer. In this project, the bioluminescent bioreporter bacterium P. Fluorescens HK44 was integrated to an optical device, capable of conducting emitted light, and used as an online biosensor of naphthalene and salicylate. The physiological requirements of the bacteria and the physical limitations of the biosensor were also determined.

Research Organization:
Tennessee Univ., Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
FG05-91ER61193
OSTI ID:
642697
Report Number(s):
DOE/ER/61193--1; ON: DE98004196; BR: KP0203000
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English