Remediation of an Industrial Dry Cleaning Site

Site Summary

A CL-Out bioaugmentation pilot study verified the applicability of CL-Out remediation of an industrial dry cleaning site. The pilot study also determined whether the availability of oxygen to support cometabolism would limit the bioremediations.

Geology and Hydrology

Although the impacted ground water was relatively shallow, the site geology was complicated and varied across even this small site. In general the glacial deposits at the site were mainly till with interbedded sandy and silty zones. The impacted ground water was contained within the granular deposits.

Contamination

The main ground water contaminant was PCE with lower concentrations of TCE, cis -1,2 DCE and vinyl chloride. In the pilot study area, the PCE concentration was 44,200 μg/L and the total of the daughter products was 14,750 μg/L.

Pilot Study Design

A pilot study was completed in the source area in the fall of 2009. One unit of CL-Out was injected into the affected ground water in the source area. One unit of CL-Out is a 55-gallon slurry with a microbial concentration of 109 cfu/ml. The CL-Out microbes were injected with 50 pounds of dextrose to provide a carbon source to support the energy requirements of the population. Pre- and post -treatment samples were taken on February 19 and December 10, 2009. The post-treatment sample was taken after the monitoring well was purged of the injected volume. The following table shows the contaminant concentration trends in the treatment area.

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Results

The pilot study verified the applicability of CL-Out bioremediation to the site. The total concentration of CVOCs was reduced from 59,000 to 13,740 μg/L. The CL-Out bioremediation was most effective in the removal of PCE and TCE. There was an increase in vinyl chloride suggesting some incomplete reductive dechlorination, probably by native dehalogenating organisms. Full-scale treatment will be most effective with the addition of an oxygen supplement to limit the dehalogenation and promote the cometabolism of the daughter products. Overall the push-pull pilot study verified the effectiveness of CL-Out bioremediation and provided insights for making full-scale application more effective.

Bioremediation of Chlorobenzene Following ISCO

Compatable Techology To Finish Remediation

CL-Out® micorbes bioremediation of chlorobenzene continued treatment after ISCO remediation stalled.  The target isomers included chlorobenzene, 1,3-dichlorobenzene, 1,4-dichlorobenzene, and 1,2-dichlorobenzene. Before bioaugmentation, individual concentrations exceeded 50,000 µg/L. The CL-Out® treatment quickly reduced contaminant concentrations by as much as 82% more.

Remediation Approach and Results

Injection through temporary well points introduced CL-Out® micorbes into the contaminated ground water in November 2010. Only one drum of the CL-Out® was injected into the ground water.

The ground water monitoring included analysis of ground water samples for the contaminants of concern, microbial population, and known functional genes, including naphthalene dioxygenase, phenol hydroxylase, and toluene dioxygenase. The 30-day monitoring results show an immediate decrease in the contaminant concentrations. After 30 days, bioremediation reduced 62% to 82% of individual contaminants. The sampling results 30 days after bioaugmentation are compared to the pre-treatment concentrations on the following chart.

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The total biomass increased from 1.5 million to 12.8 million cells per milliliter following the bioaugmentation. The concentration of the naphthalene dioxygenase functional gene also increased by more than ten fold, as shown on the following table.

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Conclusions

This project demonstrates several of the benefits of bioremediation of chlorobenzene. Bioaugmentation provides active control of the site as effective organisms compatible with the site conditions were injected where they were needed. Furthermore, the CL-Out® aerobic cometabolism was compatible with the residual conditions following ISCO treatment. Treatment will continue to reduce the contaminant concentrations to acceptable levels.

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Petrox® Bioaugmentation in Bedrock

Case Study: Petroleum Remediation in Central New Jersey

Summary

Petrox® bioaugmentation was implemented at a petroleum remediation site in Morris County, New Jersey to destroy residual petroleum compounds in ground water. The impacted ground water was in bedrock fractures under and down gradient of a former UST location. The UST was removed and an oxygen release compound was added to the ground water to stimulate bioremediation. However, residual contamination persisted and Petrox® bioremediation was implemented to remove the residual low concentration found at the site.

Geology and Hydrogeology

The bedrock surface was fairly close to the ground surface and the first ground water encountered upon drilling at the site was within the bedrock. Impacted ground water was contained within the fractures near the bedrock surface in a zone estimated to be 40 feet thick.

Contamination

Low concentrations of benzene, xylene, ethylbenzene and toluene were present in ground water at and down gradient of the former UST cavity. The area of proposed treatment was 3,600 square feet.

Implementation

Petrox was applied in two monthly applications of 8 units each. One unit of Petrox® is a 55-gallon slurry with a microbial concentration of 109 cfu/ml. ORC socks were installed in treatment wells to provide an oxygen source for the petroleum metabolism.

The monthly Petrox® injections were on May 29, 2009 and June 26, 2009. Post -treatment samples were taken on June 10, 2009 and May 4, 2010. The following table shows the contaminant concentration treads in the treatment area.

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Results

The treatment was successful in reducing the BTEX concentration at the site. However, the increase in concentrations after the first treatment showed that there were residual petroleum constituents in the source that was not reflected in the pre-treatment sampling. Petrox® microbes were detected in all of the bedrock sampling points as far as 30 feet down gradient of an injection point. Overall the treatment verified the effectiveness of Petrox® bioaugmentation in fractured bedrock.