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Bench-scale evaluation of aerosol delivery for biostimulation and bioaugmentation in the vadose zone

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Abstract

Aerosol delivery was evaluated for distributing biostimulation and bioaugmentation amendments in vadose zones. This technique involves transporting amendments as micron-scale aerosol droplets in injected gas. Microcosm experiments were designed to characterize reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) under unsaturated conditions when delivering components as aerosols. Delivering amendments and/or microbes as aqueous aerosols resulted in complete dechlorination of TCE, similar to controls operated under saturated conditions. Reductive dechlorination was achieved with manual injection of a bioaugmentation culture suspended in soybean oil into microcosms. However, aerosol delivery of the culture in soybean oil induced little reductive dechlorination activity. Overall, the results indicate that delivery as aqueous aerosols may be a viable option for delivery of amendments to enhance vadose zone bioremediation at the field-scale.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the US Department of Energy through the Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and the South Carolina University Research and Education Foundation in conjunction with Contract No. DE-AC09-08SR22470.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, 29634, USA

    Richard J. Hall, Lawrence C. Murdoch & David L. Freedman

  2. Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA

    Brian B. Looney & Brian D. Riha

Authors
  1. Richard J. Hall
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  2. Lawrence C. Murdoch
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  3. David L. Freedman
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  4. Brian B. Looney
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  5. Brian D. Riha
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Richard J. Hall.

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Hall, R.J., Murdoch, L.C., Freedman, D.L. et al. Bench-scale evaluation of aerosol delivery for biostimulation and bioaugmentation in the vadose zone. Biodegradation 26, 91–103 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-015-9718-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-015-9718-5

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