BIOREMEDIATION OF BETEX

Chapter 15
BIODEGRADATION AND
BIOTRANSFORMATION

¢ Microbial metabolism
— Microbial oxidation reaction
¢ Direct aerobic oxidation
¢ Anaerobic oxidation

— Microbial reduction reaction

¢ Anaerobic reduction

¢ Microbial co-metabolism
— Microbial oxidation reaction
¢ Direct aerobic oxidation
¢ Anaerobic oxidation

— Microbial reduction reaction

¢ Anaerobic reduction
AEROBIC OXIDATION
¢ Some microorganisms use BTEX as the sole
substrate and others need another substrate for
cometabolism.
¢ BTEX-degrading microorganisms require higher
concentrations of oxygen than other
aerobic bacteria.
¢ The half saturation constant (Ks) for oxygen
BTEX-degrading microorganisms is significantly
higher than general aerobic bateria.
¢ Inhibition of BTEX degradation has been
reported at oxygen concentrations <1 mg/l.
AEROBIC OXIDATION
¢ For biostimulation, it has been reported that at
lease 4 mg/l of dissolved oxygen needs by
native aerobic microorganisms.
¢ Other contaminants and groundwater flow
velocity influence the amount of oxygen
demand.
¢ Methods for supplying oxygen include air or
oxygen sparging, hydrogen peroxide
injection, and solid form of oxygen.
AEROBIC OXIDATION
¢ In case of cometabolim, injection of alkanes for
BTEX degradation by alkanotrophic
microorganisms has been reported.
ANAEROBIC OXIDATION
¢ Early studies indicated that BTEX will not be
degraded in the absence of oxygen.
¢ However, recent studies suggest that
biodegradation of BTEX under anaerobic
condition is possible.
¢ Strongly methanogenic conditions seem to be
favorable for the degradation of BTEX.
ANAEROBIC OXIDATION
¢ More recent study suggest that degradation of
BTEX is possible under nitrate, Mn(IV),
Fe(III), sulfate- and under metanogenic
conditions.
REFERENCES
¢ Hazardous Waste Management, M.D. LaGrega, P.L. Buckingham,
and J.C. Evans, McGraw-Hill (2001).
¢ Remediation Engineering, Design Concepts, S. Suthersan, CRC
Press (1999).
¢ Bioremediation: Principles and Applications, Ronald L. Crawford
and Don L. Crawford, Cambridge University Press (1996).
¢ Biodegradation and Bioremediation, Ajay Singh and Owen P.
Ward, Springer (2004).
¢ Applied Bioremediation and Phytoremediation, Ajay Singh and
Owen P. Ward, Springer (2004).
¢ Handbook of Bioremediation, Robert D. Norris et al., CRC Press
(1994).
¢ Bioremediation: Applied Microbial Solutions for Real-world
Environmental Cleanup, Ronald M. Atlas and Jim Philip, ASM
press, (2005).