Abstract
In situ biorestoration is a groundwater remediation technique in which the indigenous aquifer bacteria are stimulated by injecting compounds to provide carbon source and energy. Stimulated bacteria may transform the target contaminants such as tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) into intermediate products. In this study, we developed a model to simulate the substrate-limited biotransformation of the halogenated solvents present in anoxic groundwater by sequential reductive dehalogenation under methanogenic conditions. The model consists of conservation of mass equations for the primary substrate, immobile indigenous biomass, organic solvents such as PCE and TCE, and their intermediate products trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride. The utilization of primary substrate and the biotransformation of organic solvents are assumed to follow Monod kinetics. The limiting factor on bacterial growth is assumed to be the primary substrate. The microbial yield coefficient is determined from the stoichiometric equation describing the anaerobic process. The model is solved by using a finite difference technique. Results are presented for three different case studies: continuous injection of primary substrate (acetate), single-pulse injection, and double-pulse injection. The single-pulse or double-pulse injection techniques were found to be more effective than continuous injection of primary substrate. Double-pulse technique reduces the clogging of injection wells caused by excessive microbial growth around boreholes and achieves a more uniform distribution of microbial growth in the subsurface. In all cases target compounds were effectively removed. The results, however, indicate substantial levels of intermediate product accumulation. Numerical results of a simplified model which assumes an abundance of primary substrate and a constant population of biomass, compare favorably with experimental data reported in the literature.
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Hossain, A., Corapcioglu, M.Y. Modeling primary substrate controlled biotransformation and transport of halogenated aliphatics in porous media. Transp Porous Med 24, 203–220 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00139845
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00139845