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Estimation of kinetic Monod parameters for anaerobic degradation of benzene in groundwater

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

To date, evidence for the degradation of benzene under anaerobic conditions has been established only in few studies under field and laboratory conditions. Recently, we demonstrated the mineralization of benzene under sulfate-reducing conditions in a large-scale column experiment at a field site by balancing electrons (Vogt et al. in Biodegradation, 2007, in press). Here, from a modelling approach, kinetic Monod parameters are estimated for the degradation of benzene in the columns, Monod kinetics proved useful to simulate benzene concentrations at the column outflow. The uncertainty of the obtained parameters is determined in a sensitivity analysis. A total mass of degraded benzene of 23 g or 80% of the total influx over a period of three months was calculated. The estimated maximum utilization rate was calculated to be around 70 times lower than from aerobic benzene degradation experiments.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the project has been provided through the SAFIRA (Remediation research in regionally contaminated aquifers) Programme of the UFZ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. Additional funding has been provided by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under reference numbers 02WT0040, 02WT0041 and 02WT0042. We are grateful to Hans H. Richnow and Helmut Geistlinger (both UFZ) for their valuable advice during the experiments and the modelling. We thank Holger Weiß, Ralf Trabitzsch (both UFZ) and Olaf Böhme (GFE-Consult GmbH, Halle, Germany) for continuing support. We thank Werner Kletzander and Jörg Ahlheim (both UFZ) for technical assistance. We would also like to thank the Landesanstalt für Altlastenfreistellung, the Mitteldeutsche Sanierungs- und Entsorgungsgesellschaft mbH and the Zeitzer Standortgesellschaft mbH for their support. Finally, we thank an anonymous reviewer for his/her constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Groundwater Remediation, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Stefan Gödeke

  2. Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Carsten Vogt

  3. Department of Hydrogeology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstr. 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany

    Mario Schirmer

  4. URS Australia Pty Ltd, Level 3, 20 Terrace Road, East Perth, 6004, WA, Australia

    Stefan Gödeke

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  1. Stefan Gödeke
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  2. Carsten Vogt
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  3. Mario Schirmer
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Correspondence to Mario Schirmer.

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Gödeke, S., Vogt, C. & Schirmer, M. Estimation of kinetic Monod parameters for anaerobic degradation of benzene in groundwater. Environ Geol 55, 423–431 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0988-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-007-0988-z

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