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TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES TO EVALUATE THE NATURAL ATTENUATION OF MTBE
Citation:
Wilson*, J T. TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES TO EVALUATE THE NATURAL ATTENUATION OF MTBE. Presented at 11th Annual Petroleum Environmental Conf, Albuquerque, NM, October 12 - 15, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
Natural anaerobic biodegradation is the most important processes controlling natural attenuation of MTBE along a flow path. However, natural biological degradation has been particularly difficult to document at field scale. Biodegradation of the BTEX compounds produce the same biogeochemical footprints. Microcosm studies are time consuming and expensive. It is difficult to isolate pure cultures of anaerobes that biodegrade MTBE, and as a result there are no gene probes available for these organisms. TBA is the first stable biodegradation product of MTBE biodegradation, but many plumes contain TBA that was a component of the gasoline that was originally spilled. Recent work shows an extensive isotopic fractionation of stable carbon isotopes during anaerobic biodegradation of MTBE. An analysis of the extent of isotopic fractionation can provide an unequivocal quantitative boundary on the extent of biodegradation of MTBE in ground water.