Use of N-Rich Organic Absorbents for the in situ Remediation of Crude Oil Contaminated Louisiana Wetlands and Shallow Groundwater Systems

摘要

Louisiana coastal wetlands house an extensive petrochemical industry and pipeline newwork as well as serving as the principle fish nurseries in the Gulf of Mexcio . These wetland systems often form shallow groundwater-surface water interaction zones. It is important to prevent the migration of crude oil contaminants into shallow groundwater where conditions are less favorable for degradation of long chain aliphatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Remediation is complicated because these heavily vegetated areas typically offer limited access to cleanup equipment and personnel. The hydrophobic nature of spilled crude iol limits nutrients and oxygen availability during microbial degradation of organic hydrocarbons. Laboratory and field studies were performed to investigate the value of naturally occurring N-rich absorbents as well as commercially available absorbents for the in situ remediation of wetlands contaminated with Louisiana Sweet crude iol. Microcosm studies show that some of these absorbents are excellent oil absorbents, and can greatly enhance crude iol degradation of absorbed iol. Surface application of a nitrogen amended cellulosic material called ammoniated bagasse (ABG) significantly enhanced hydrocarbon disappearance, promoting 99