Coupled Biogeochemical Process Evaluation for Conceptualizing Trichloroethylene Co-Metabolism

Conference · Wed Apr 05 04:00:00 EDT 2006

OSTI ID:894507

Colwell, Frederick; Radtke, Corey; Newby, Deborah; Delwiche, Mark; Crawf, Ronald L; Paszczynski, Andrzej; Strap, Janice; Conrad, Mark; Brodic, Eoin; Starr, Robert; Lee, Hope

Chlorinated solvent wastes (e.g., trichloroethene or TCE) often occur as diffuse subsurface plumes in complex geological environments where coupled processes must be understood in order to implement remediation strategies. Monitored natural attenuation (MNA) warrants study as a remediation technology because it minimizes worker and environment exposure to the wastes and because it costs less than other technologies. However, to be accepted MNA requires 'lines of evidence' indicating that the wastes are effectively destroyed. Our research will study the coupled biogeochemical processes that dictate the rate of TCE co-metabolism in contaminated aquifers first at the Idaho National Laboratory and then at Paducah or the Savannah River Site, where natural attenuation of TCE is occurring. We will use flow-through in situ reactors to investigate the rate of methanotrophic co-metabolism of TCE and the coupling of the responsible biological processes with the dissolved methane flux and groundwater flow velocity. We will use new approaches (e.g., stable isotope probing, enzyme activity probes, real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, proteomics) to assay the TCE co-metabolic rates, and interpret these rates in the context of enzyme activity, gene expression, and cellular inactivation related to intermediates of TCE co-metabolism. By determining the rate of TCE co-metabolism at different methane concentrations and groundwater flow velocities, we will derive key modeling parameters for the computational simulations that describe the attenuation, and thereby refine such models while assessing the contribution of microbial relative to other natural attenuation processes. This research will strengthen our ability to forecast the viability of MNA at DOE and other sites that are contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons.

• Research Organization: Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL), Idaho Falls, ID; Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE - Office of Science (SC)
• OSTI ID: 894507
• Report Number(s): CONF-ERSP2006-30
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AQUIFERS
ATTENUATION
ENZYME ACTIVITY
GENES
INACTIVATION
METHANE
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
PLUMES
POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION
PROBES
SOLVENTS
STABLE ISOTOPES
VELOCITY
VIABILITY
WASTES