Fast, Easy Drainage Ditch Cleanup

Petrox bioremediation of surface spills and TPH accumulation in drainage ditches and maintenance areas is simple. Using a simple manual sprayer, the Petrox is applied to the soil surface. The Petrox microbes begin bioremediation immediately to enhance natural digestion of the petroleum, like probiotics for petroleum destruction.  Unlike detergents that wash the visible oil deeper in the soil, Petrox microbes destroy the all of the oil.

The following chart and table show the results of the application of Petrox to petroleum-contaminated soil in a drainage ditch. After about 60 days, the TPH concentration was reduced by 67% in one location and over 90% in three locations.  A second application to the 30 ft. north area reduced the concentration even more.

The problem was solved for a total Petrox cost of $600.

houston soil treatment chart houston soil treatment table

 

 

 

Bioremediation of Industrial Fill

Historical industrial sites often have deposits of fill material containing a wide range of organic contaminants.   Perched ground water  present in the base of the fill is usually impacted by the contaminants and may provide a mechanism for off-property migration of the contaminants.  The organic contaminants are wide spread throughout the fill without a well defined source area.  Cost-effective remediation is difficult with this combination of conditions.

Bioaugmentation with CL-Out or Petrox can remove the contaminants from the fill and perched water by destruction in place.  The organisms in CL-Out and Petrox can metabolize a wide-range of organic chemicals at concentrations from separate-phase layers to part per trillion levels.  Soil and ground water contaminants are addressed simultaneously though injection of the microbes without disturbing the  site operations.

The following table shows typical results from a single application of Petrox to contaminated soil and perched ground water on July 10, 2011.  The remediation progress was tracked by ground water monitoring because it was the easiest sampling method once wells were in place.Industrial Fill TreatmentThe results show that within 30 days the contaminant concentrations in perched water were reduced by 50%.  After 60 days there was slight rebound in come of the contaminants, showing that more soil treatment may be necessary if lower cleanup goals needed to be maintained.

 

 

Field Bioremediation Rates For Petroleum and Solvents

The success of bioaugmentation depends on effective distribution of the beneficial microbes.  If the target population is achieved, the remediation rate ranges from 50% to over 99% removal.  The rate appears to be independent of the contaminant starting concentrations.  This indepedence is the advantage of bioaugmentation.  Through bioaugmentation the density of beneficial organisms is sufficient for frequent reactions with high or low contaminant levels.  The following chart shows the results of a single application of bioaugmentation at 11 sites in different states, with different contaminants.

remediation rates with bioaugmentation

 

The chart also suggests that the results are not time dependent.  The apparent time independence may be because the reactions are completed early and because these were grid applications with the monitoring locations within the bioaugmented area instead of downgradient where the results would depend on dispersion rates.

The USEPA tested the degradation rate of oil using Munox SR for NCP listing.  The degradation rate exceeded most comparable products with 95% removal of alkanes and 89% removal of aromatics in 28 days.  The NCP test results are available at https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2013-08/documents/notebook.pdf

 

Bioaugmentation to Improve Oxygen Delivery Results

Many times oxygen is injected to improve natural attenuation of petroleum and other contaminants.  The results are often less than expected because the beneficial microbes that the oxygen addition is supposed to stimulate are absent or insufficient in numbers.  Bioaugmentation has been used to improve the results once the oxygen levels have increased but failed to improve the remediation rate.

The following table shows the results of Petrox bioaugmentation at a site in New Hampshire where the operation of an iSOC oxygen-delivery system failed to achieve stimulated bioremediation.  The table shows the improvement of the degradation rates and the achievement of reaching remediation goals.

Contaminant Pre-iSOC After iSOC Installation After Petrox Application
3/19/2002 1/9/2003 11/29/2004 2/9/2005 4/22/2005
Benzene 33 34 163 27 <2
Toluene 36 13 143 13 <2
Ethylbenzene 130 29 167 29 <2
Total Xylenes 500 141 336 109 <2
MTBE 60 24 61 35 1
Naphthalene 320 196 58 17 <2
1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 110 40 238 110 <2
1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene 54 29 25 16 <2

California Site Closure with Petrox Bioremediation

Southern California Gasoline UST Release Site

After removal of USTs, piping and surrounding soils, ground water was treated with 110 gallons of Petrox® by direct injection in December 2009.  Post-treatment sampling shows that the bioaugmentation reduced the contaminant levels to below regulatory standards by the next semi-annual sampling round.

Sampling Date

TPHg Benzene Toluene Ethylbenzene

Total   Xylenes

MTBE
Pre-bioaugmentation

10/6/09

1,200 320 7.2 700

70

5
Post-bioaugmentation

4/26/10

<50 <0.5 <0.51 <1

<5

<0.5

All concentrations shown in µg/L.