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NATURAL ATTENUATION OF MTBE IN THE SUBSURFACE UNDER METHANOGENIC CONDITIONS
Citation:
Wilson*, J T., J S. Cho*, B E. Wilson*, AND J. A. Vardy. NATURAL ATTENUATION OF MTBE IN THE SUBSURFACE UNDER METHANOGENIC CONDITIONS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-00/006 (NTIS PB20000-103410), 2000.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
This case study was conducted at the former Fuel Farm Site at the U.S.Coast Guard Support Center at Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The study is intended to answer the following questions. Can MTBE be biodegraded under methanogenic conditions in ground water that was contaminated by a fuel spill? Will biodegradation produce concentrations of MTBE that are less than regulatory standards? What is the relationship between the degradation of MTBE and degradation of the BTEX compounds? What is the rate of natural attenuation of the source area? The concentration of MTBE in the ground water was reduced from nearly 1,700 g/liter to less than 20 g/liter within three years travel time along the flow path in the field, and within two years incubation in the laboratory. MTBE degraded after the BTEX compounds were completely degraded. The rate of natural attenuation of the source area was evaluated by comparing the flux of MTBE in ground water away from the source area to the total mass of MTBE in the source area. The instantaneous rate of transfer was 6 percent per year. At this rate of attenuation of the source, it would require approximately sixty years for the concentration in ground water in the source to reach 30 g/l.