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Biostimulation of anaerobic BTEX biodegradation under fermentative methanogenic conditions at source-zone groundwater contaminated with a biodiesel blend (B20)

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Abstract

Field experiments were conducted to assess the potential for anaerobic biostimulation to enhance BTEX biodegradation under fermentative methanogenic conditions in groundwater impacted by a biodiesel blend (B20, consisting of 20 % v/v biodiesel and 80 % v/v diesel). B20 (100 L) was released at each of two plots through an area of 1 m2 that was excavated down to the water table, 1.6 m below ground surface. One release was biostimulated with ammonium acetate, which was added weekly through injection wells near the source zone over 15 months. The other release was not biostimulated and served as a baseline control simulating natural attenuation. Ammonium acetate addition stimulated the development of strongly anaerobic conditions, as indicated by near-saturation methane concentrations. BTEX removal began within 8 months in the biostimulated source zone, but not in the natural attenuation control, where BTEX concentrations were still increasing (due to source dissolution) 2 years after the release. Phylogenetic analysis using quantitative PCR indicated an increase in concentration and relative abundance of Archaea (Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota), Geobacteraceae (Geobacter and Pelobacter spp.) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (Desulfovibrio, Desulfomicrobium, Desulfuromusa, and Desulfuromonas) in the biostimulated plot relative to the control. Apparently, biostimulation fortuitously enhanced the growth of putative anaerobic BTEX degraders and associated commensal microorganisms that consume acetate and H2, and enhance the thermodynamic feasibility of BTEX fermentation. This is the first field study to suggest that anaerobic-methanogenic biostimulation could enhance source zone bioremediation of groundwater aquifers impacted by biodiesel blends.

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Acknowledgments

This research was primarily funded by Petróleo Brasileiro S/A—PETROBRAS. Additional funds (scholarships) were provided by Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, Brazil

    Débora Toledo Ramos, Helen Simone Chiaranda & Henry Xavier Corseuil

  2. EMBRAPA, BR153 Km 110, P.O. Box 21, Concórdia, SC, 89700-000, Brazil

    Márcio Luis Busi da Silva

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA

    Pedro J. J. Alvarez

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  1. Débora Toledo Ramos
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  2. Márcio Luis Busi da Silva
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  3. Helen Simone Chiaranda
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  4. Pedro J. J. Alvarez
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  5. Henry Xavier Corseuil
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Correspondence to Pedro J. J. Alvarez or Henry Xavier Corseuil.

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Ramos, D.T., da Silva, M.L.B., Chiaranda, H.S. et al. Biostimulation of anaerobic BTEX biodegradation under fermentative methanogenic conditions at source-zone groundwater contaminated with a biodiesel blend (B20). Biodegradation 24, 333–341 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-012-9589-y

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