Evaluation of bioventing on a gasoline-ethanol contaminated undisturbed residual soil.
Remediation methods for environmental contamination problems based on physical or chemical processes frequently present low efficiency and/or high costs. On the other hand, biological treatment is being proved to be an accessible alternative for soil and water remediation. Bioventing is commonly used for petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) spills. This process provides better subsurface oxygenation, thus stimulating degradation by indigenous microorganisms. In Brazil, gasoline and ethanol are routinely mixed; some authors suggest that despite gasoline high degradability, its degradation in the aquifer is hindered by the presence of much rapidly degrading ethanol. The present study evaluates a bioventing treatment of a gasoline-ethanol contaminated undisturbed residual soil from Rio de Janeiro. Contamination and treatment effects were monitored by conventional microbiology methods, chemical analysis, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) measurements. Results of culturable bacterial population counts show the effect of contamination and bioventing on the microbiota of gasoline and gasoline-ethanol containing soils; however, GPR responses to these variations are not conclusive and still need to be assessed.
Osterreicher-Cunha
Patricia
P
Instituto de Biofísica Carlos Chagas Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. osterr@laposte.net
Vargas
Eurípedes do Amaral
Edo A
Guimarães
Jean Rémy Davée
JR
de Campos
Tácio Mauro Pereira
TM
Nunes
Cassiane Maria Ferreira
CM
Costa
Ariovaldo
A
Antunes
Franklin dos Santos
Fdos S
da Silva
Maria Isabel Pais
MI
Mano
Denise Maria
DM
D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D045424:Complex Mixtures / Q000737:chemistry; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D005742:Gasoline / Q000032:analysis*; D010316:Particle Size; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014691:Ventilation / Q000379:methods
D045424:Complex Mixtures; D005742:Gasoline; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D000431:Ethanol