Grantee Research Project Results

2001 Progress Report: Enhancement of Microbial Sulfate Reduction for the Remediation of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Aquifers - A Laboratory and Field Scale Demonstration

EPA Grant Number: R827015C014
Subproject: this is subproject number 014 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant R827015
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: HSRC (1989) - Northeast HSRC
Center Director: Sidhu, Sukh S.
Title: Enhancement of Microbial Sulfate Reduction for the Remediation of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Aquifers - A Laboratory and Field Scale Demonstration
Investigators: Suflita, Joseph
Institution: University of Oklahoma
EPA Project Officer: Aja, Hayley
Project Period: October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001 (Extended to May 31, 2002)
Project Period Covered by this Report: October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001
RFA: Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium (IPEC) (1999) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Targeted Research

Objective:

The primary goal of this project is to design, implement, and monitor a simple but effective enhanced anaerobic bioremediation technology for treating hydrocarbon contamination in aquifers. The specific goals of this project are to:

1. Use laboratory experiments coupled with geochemical, hydrological, and contaminant characterizations to design the sulfate injection process and to evaluate the feasibility of this approach.
2. Establish baseline contaminant, geochemical, and microbiological conditions prior to sulfate injection.
3. Monitor the performance of the enhanced anaerobic biodegradation process primarily for BTEX remediation.
4. Identify the applicability and limitations of enhancing sulfate reduction for stimulating BTEX biodegradation.

Progress Summary:

Laboratory

Laboratory biodegradation experiments were conducted to identify the effect of sulfate addition on sulfate reduction and benzene biodegradation activities. The potential for dissolved sulfide formation was also evaluated. Sulfate addition stimulated benzene biodegradation in samples obtained from many of the sampling locations but not all of them. As anticipated, the sulfate reduction rates in groundwater samples correlated positively with the in-situ concentration of sulfate. In consistent fashion, the addition of sulfate to groundwater samples containing negligible sulfate stimulated sulfate reduction. Environmental factors other than sulfate availability have also been evaluated for their impact on benzene biodegradation. For instance, toxicity experiments indicate that benzene concentrations over 100 mg/L did not inhibit sulfate reduction in sediment slurries. Thus, benzene toxicity may not be an important variable that will govern benzene biodegradation linked to sulfate reduction at this site. The sediments were found to have a high capacity to precipitate produced sulfide thereby minimizing the chances for dissolved sulfide accumulation. Further, sulfate reduction did not have a substantial impact on the hydraulic conductivity in sediment cores. Experiments are being conducted to evaluate why sulfate did not stimulate benzene biodegradation in some of the samples. Overall, the laboratory findings are consistent with preliminary field observations as discussed below.

Field

Groundwater samples were collected from approximately fifty wells for a variety of geochemical and hydrocarbon analyses over the course of approximately one year prior to sulfate injection. A survey of these groundwater samples and sediments for geochemistry, hydrocarbon biodegradation metabolites, and BTEX concentrations, indicated that the conditions were suitable for stimulating benzene biodegradation by sulfate addition. These analyses established the baseline trends in geochemistry (dissolved oxygen, iron, methane, iron, sulfide) and BTEX throughout the anticipated treatment zone. Sulfate injection has initiated decreases in benzene concentrations in the southeastern portion of the treatment area that cannot be accounted for by dilution. Additional injection and monitoring will be required to identify whether sulfate injection will result in decreasing benzene concentrations in other areas.

Future Activities:

Additional experiments are being conducted to identify the sulfate requirements due to the biodegradation of hydrocarbons other than BTEX. Monitoring of field parameters including BTEX, sulfate, conservative tracers, geochemical conditions, and hydraulic head differentials continues.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this subproject

Supplemental Keywords:

biodegradation, bioremediation, groundwater, BTEX, benzene, anaerobic., Scientific Discipline, TREATMENT/CONTROL, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Waste, Water, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Remediation, Environmental Chemistry, Chemistry and Materials Science, Contaminated Sediments, Groundwater remediation, Treatment Technologies, Chemicals, Oil Spills, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Monitoring, contaminant transport, oil removal, crude oil, hydrocarbons, contaminated sediment, sediment treatment, petroleum industry, microbial sulfate reduction, chlorinated hydrocarbons, aquifer remediation, groundwater contamination, soil sampling, microbial sulfate, chemical contaminants, contaminated soil, oil wells, contaminated groundwater, oil spill, remediation technologies, groundwater, bioremediation, hazardous waste

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

Final Report

Main Center Abstract and Reports:

R827015    HSRC (1989) - Northeast HSRC

Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
R827015C001 Evaluation of Road Base Material Derived from Tank Bottom Sludges
R827015C002 Passive Sampling Devices (PSDs) for Bioavailability Screening of Soils Containing Petrochemicals
R827015C003 Demonstration of a Subsurface Drainage System for the Remediation of Brine-Impacted Soil
R827015C004 Anaerobic Intrinsic Bioremediation of Whole Gasoline
R827015C005 Microflora Involved in Phytoremediation of Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons
R827015C006 Microbial Treatment of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM)
R827015C007 Using Plants to Remediate Petroleum-Contaminated Soil
R827015C008 The Use of Nitrate for the Control of Sulfide Formation in Oklahoma Oil Fields
R827015C009 Surfactant-Enhanced Treatment of Oil-Contaminated Soils and Oil-Based Drill Cuttings
R827015C010 Novel Materials for Facile Separation of Petroleum Products from Aqueous Mixtures Via Magnetic Filtration
R827015C011 Development of Relevant Ecological Screening Criteria (RESC) for Petroleum Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Exploration and Production Sites
R827015C012 Humate-Induced Remediation of Petroleum Contaminated Surface Soils
R827015C013 New Process for Plugging Abandoned Wells
R827015C014 Enhancement of Microbial Sulfate Reduction for the Remediation of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Aquifers - A Laboratory and Field Scale Demonstration
R827015C015 Locating Oil-Water Interfaces in Process Vessels
R827015C016 Remediation of Brine Spills with Hay
R827015C017 Continuation of an Investigation into the Anaerobic Intrinsic Bioremediation of Whole Gasoline
R827015C018 Using Plants to Remediate Petroleum-Contaminated Soil
R827015C019 Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Salt-Impacted Soil by Native Halophiles or Halotolerants and Strategies for Enhanced Degradation
R827015C020 Anaerobic Intrinsic Bioremediation of MTBE
R827015C021 Evaluation of Commercial, Microbial-Based Products to Treat Paraffin Deposition in Tank Bottoms and Oil Production Equipment
R827015C022 A Continuation: Humate-Induced Remediation of Petroleum Contaminated Surface Soils
R827015C023 Data for Design of Vapor Recovery Units for Crude Oil Stock Tank Emissions
R827015C024 Development of an Environmentally Friendly and Economical Process for Plugging Abandoned Wells
R827015C025 A Continuation of Remediation of Brine Spills with Hay
R827015C026 Identifying the Signature of the Natural Attenuation of MTBE in Goundwater Using Molecular Methods and "Bug Traps"
R827015C027 Identifying the Signature of Natural Attenuation in the Microbial Ecology of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Groundwater Using Molecular Methods and "Bug Traps"
R827015C028 Using Plants to Remediate Petroleum-Contaminated Soil: Project Continuation
R827015C030 Effective Stormwater and Sediment Control During Pipeline Construction Using a New Filter Fence Concept
R827015C031 Evaluation of Sub-micellar Synthetic Surfactants versus Biosurfactants for Enhanced LNAPL Recovery
R827015C032 Utilization of the Carbon and Hydrogen Isotopic Composition of Individual Compounds in Refined Hydrocarbon Products To Monitor Their Fate in the Environment
R830633 Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium (IPEC)
R830633C001 Development of an Environmentally Friendly and Economical Process for Plugging Abandoned Wells (Phase II)
R830633C002 A Continuation of Remediation of Brine Spills with Hay
R830633C003 Effective Stormwater and Sediment Control During Pipeline Construction Using a New Filter Fence Concept
R830633C004 Evaluation of Sub-micellar Synthetic Surfactants versus Biosurfactants for Enhanced LNAPL Recovery
R830633C005 Utilization of the Carbon and Hydrogen Isotopic Composition of Individual Compounds in Refined Hydrocarbon Products To Monitor Their Fate in the Environment
R830633C006 Evaluation of Commercial, Microbial-Based Products to Treat Paraffin Deposition in Tank Bottoms and Oil Production Equipment
R830633C007 Identifying the Signature of the Natural Attenuation in the Microbial Ecology of Hydrocarbon Contaminated Groundwater Using Molecular Methods and “Bug Traps”
R830633C008 Using Plants to Remediate Petroleum-Contaminated Soil: Project Continuation
R830633C009 Use of Earthworms to Accelerate the Restoration of Oil and Brine Impacted Sites