Aerobics to the Rescue

In Aerobics to the Rescue, J.D. Brusenhan and M.T. Saul emphasized the use of compatible aerobic technologies to improve groundwater remediation as it improves the effectiveness of the existing remediation system.

Aerobic technology surpasses the success rate of technologies under anaerobic conditions when it comes to degrading trichloroethylene (TCE) and tetrachloroethylene (PCE). Unlike in anaerobic conditions where there has been limited success indegredation of the breakdown products dichloroethylene and vinyl chloride, aerobic technology can degrade PCE and TCE and related products to inorganic constituents.

In their case study, soil and ground water contamination were addressed first with soil vapor extraction (SVE) and soil excavation, and bioaugmentation was used to address the residual contamination. Aerobic bioaugmentation was used after the introduction of potassium permanganate as a supplemental technology since it is compatible with the aerobic conditions and with successful source area treatment. The result is the formation of dissolve oxygen which was later explained to be essential to complete the co-metabolic breakdown of PCE.

Based on the data presented, I find aerobic technologies such as bioaugmentation to be more effective remediation system as it clearly shows in the case study that it really improves the degradation of PCE present in the treated groundwater. Instead of anaerobic condition, they used oxygen release compound to increase the dissolve oxygen (DO) level. The combination of bioaugmentattion and aerobic technology are found to be dependent on the availability of dissolved oxygen.

They mentioned aerobic bioremediation to be naturally compatible with air sparging, soil vapor extraction and chemical oxidation by peroxide compounds or potassium permanganate. Though bioremediation may only be applied limitedly when there is oxygen under natural condition, combining it with an oxygen-producing technology (aerobic technology) will...