Benzo(a)pyrene Bioremediation Using Custom Blend Microbes

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Benzo(a)pyrene is a difficult remediation challenge. It is resistant to biological and chemical destruction and extraction from soil.  CL Solutions Custom Blend microbes, however, have successfully remediated benzo(a)pyrene and other PAHs in soil during ex situ land farming treatment.  By placing the contaminated  material in windrows, controlling the temperature and moisture, the addition of Custom Blend microbes has reduced the benzo(a)pyrene concentration by as much as 330 ug/kg/day.

The same approach works on high as well as low concentrations.  At a site in Oregon, the benzo(a)pyrene concentration was reduced from 140 ug/Kg to below detection limits in 7 days.  At a site in Ohio, the benzo(a)pyrene concentration was reduced from 28,000 ug/kg to 3.8 ug/Kg in 60 days.  At both sites, Custom Blend microbes effectively treated the full suite of PAHs along with the benzo(a)pyrene.

Clu-In Reports on Aerobic Cometabolism

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The US EPA Technology and Field Services Division produced a report on aerobic cometabolism of chlorinated solvents under their Contaminated Sites Clean-Up Information program on February 7, 2019.  This report includes an overview of aerobic cometabolism and guidance on application and monitoring.  Click here to link to the report.

While the report cites the research of Thomas Wood, et. al., it does not include the research demonstrating aerobic cometabolism of PCE.  The following links go to the research on aerobic cometabolism of PCE.

https://www.che.psu.edu/faculty/wood/group/publications/pdf/PCEMixturedeg.pdf

https://www.academia.edu/3299440/Aerobic_degradation_of_tetrachloroethylene_by_toluene-o-xylene_monooxygenase_of_Pseudomonas_stutzeri_OX1

One of the benefits of aerobic cometabolism is the applicability of bioremediation to shallow soil and ground water that may cause vapor intrusion risk at dry cleaners.  Removing the source of the vapors under natural conditions,without business interruption, is the most economical and sustainable solution.

CL Solutions’ CL-Out consortium has been used for bioremediation of PCE and other chlorinated solvents at dry cleaners and industrial sites since 1999.  Contact CL Solutions for information and a site evaluation.

New Chlorinated Solvent Results

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CL-Out bioremediation continued to show outstanding results in bioremediation of PCE, TCE and other chlorinated solvents at three recent applications. Results show more than 90% PCE removal with a single application of CL-Out for in situ ground water treatment. The PCE remediation did not cause an increase in vinyl chloride showing that the breakdown pathway was by dioxygenase cometabolism and not by reductive dechlorination.

A site in Massachusetts showed the following ground water results:
PCE 1,100 ug/L reduced to 30 ug/L, 97% removed
TCE 39 ug/L reduced to 5.6 ug/L, 85% removed
No other daughter products were detected.

Ground water remediation in Florida showed these results:
PCE 182 ug/L reduced to 16.1 ug/L, 91% removed
TCE 9.82 ug/L reduced to 2.77 ug/L, 71% removed
cis 1,2 DCE 3.26 ug/L reduced to 0.282 ug/L, 91% removed
vinyl chloride was not detected before or after bioremediation.

Ground Water contamination at a site in New Jersey followed the same trend:
PCE 690 ug/L reduced to less than 5 ug/L, 99% removed
TCE 7,980 ug/L reduced to less than 810 ug/L, 89% removed
No breakdown products were detected.

These sites join the hundreds of sites remediated by CL-Out aerobic cometabolism.

Perchlorate Remediation Receives Greener Cleanup Leadership Award

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The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection awarded Irwin Engineering of Natick, Massachusetts the 2016 Greener Cleanup Leadership Award for the innovative in situ bioremediation of perchorate contamination of soil and ground water at the Concord Road Site in Billerica, Massachusetts. The award honors LSPs and their clients for promoting greener cleanup principles and practices to reduce the overall net environmental footprint of hazardous waste site cleanup response actions under the Massachusetts Contingency Plan.

In addition to implementing best practices, Irwin Engineers was able to close the site at least 5 years sooner and saving their client over $5 million. The site cleanup achieved residential soil standards without site use limitations and achieved ground water levels protective of drinking water.

In situ Heavy Oil Bioremediation in Alberta

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Using a special microbial blend, Delta Environmental has been successfully bioremediating high concentrations of heavy oil in soil around pipelines and oil production equipment.  At a typical site, Delta reduced the concentration of petroleum C34 to >C50 from 130,000 mg/Kg to less than 10,900 in 30 days.  That is a removal rate of 3,970 mg/Kg/day.  This approach not only benefits the environment and meets green cleanup standards, but saves money and equipment downtime for the facility.