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Experimental linkage issues of petroleum site bioremediation

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Abstract

Bioremediation of petroleum-contaminated sites is expected to be a cost-effective remediation technology. However, many potential users of the technology expect the reliability of this technology to be similar to other candidate technologies for widespread consideration. In particular, candidate technologies should possess the property of reliable experimental linkage — there should be reasonable confidence that experiments done at one scale can be reliably related to another. An important example is bench-scale treatability studies that should result in linkages with commercial-scale operations. In this respect comparison of bioremediation to other candidate technologies reveals that bioremediation is in an early stage of its evolution. It is being pursued at a variety of sites and scales with practitioners from a variety of disciplines. Integration of activities between disciplines and an ability to quantitatively compare results at different sites and scales is proceeding. This paper addresses a number of physical, chemical, biological, analytical, and statistical issues regarding the successful comparison of results between experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Corporate Research Laboratory, Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Clinton Township, Route 22 East, 08801-0998, Annandale, NJ, USA

    J. W. Blackburn, W. K. Robbins & R. C. Prince

  2. Dept of Statistics and Computer Science, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV

    E. J. Harner

  3. Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Inc., East Millstone, NJ

    J. R. Clark

  4. Dept of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

    R. M. Atlas

  5. Exxon Engineering, Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Florham Park, NJ, USA

    J. B. Wilkinson

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  1. J. W. Blackburn
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Blackburn, J.W., Harner, E.J., Robbins, W.K. et al. Experimental linkage issues of petroleum site bioremediation. Biodegradation 4, 207–230 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00695970

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