Successful Application of Enhanced Bioremediation Amendments: Reducing BTEX in a Fractured Bedrock Aquifer

摘要

Enhancement of the natural rate of hydrocarbon degradation is now a widely accepted remedial approach. In this effort, minimal increases in the level of terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) were used to positively impact the rate of disappearance of hydrocarbons in the soils and groundwater in a fractured bedrock aquifer. This deployment leveraged an existing knowledge base of site geology and enhanced the disappearance of hydrocarbons by increasing the amount of TEAs in the impacted subsurface using an infiltration gallery to meter the treatment material into the impacted area. This effort was successful in spite of resource constraints that precluded the use of bench-scale studies. The remedial effort relied upon common natural attenuation parameters to guide the deployment of the materials necessary to reduce the level of hydrocarbons in this application. This article offers an example of how similar applications can benefit from this experience.