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In Situ Bioremediation of MTBE in Groundwater
In Situ Bioremediation of MTBE in Groundwater Author:Paul Johnson, Karen Miller, Cristin Bruce This is a NAVAL FACILITIES ENGINEERING SERVICE CENTER PORT HUENEME CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A454124. Th... more »e abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Treatment of MTBE-contaminated aquifers is difficult because the unique chemical properties of MTBE (relatively high soluble relatively low sorption relatively low Henry's Law Constant compared to BTEX compound properties) render most conventional groundwater treatment approaches ineffective or impracticable. Currently, conventional pump-and-treat (P&T) followed by aboveground water treatment and discharge is thought to be the only reliable option. However P&T is known to be a slow source zone treatment option it is maintenance-intensive and as a result is a relatively costly option at many sites. Preliminary American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated suggest that the presence of MTBE at a fuel release site could at least double the corrective action cost relative to at similar site without MTBE (API 1997; Bauman 1997). This demonstration illustrates the potential of an innovative technology designed to contain dissolved MTBE groundwater plumes. In this technology a biologically reactive groundwater flow-through barrier (the "bio- barrier") is established down gradient of a gasoline-spill source zone. Groundwater containing dissolved MTBE flows to and through the bio-barrier. As is passes through the bio-barrier the MTBE is converted by microorganisms to innocuous by-products (carbon dioxide and water). Groundwater leaving the down- gradient edge of the treatment zone contains MTBE at concentrations less than or equal to the treatment target levels.« less