title: Modeling in-situ uranium(VI) bioreduction by sulfate-reducing bacteria.
abstract: We present a travel-time based reactive transport model to simulate an in-situ bioremediation experiment for demonstrating enhanced bioreduction of uranium(VI). The model considers aquatic equilibrium chemistry of uranium and other groundwater constituents, uranium sorption and precipitation, and the microbial reduction of nitrate, sulfate and U(VI). Kinetic sorption/desorption of U(VI) is characterized by mass transfer between stagnant micro-pores and mobile flow zones. The model describes the succession of terminal electron accepting processes and the growth and decay of sulfate-reducing bacteria, concurrent with the enzymatic reduction of aqueous U(VI) species. The effective U(VI) reduction rate and sorption site distributions are determined by fitting the model simulation to an in-situ experiment at Oak Ridge, TN. Results show that (1) the presence of nitrate inhibits U(VI) reduction at the site; (2) the fitted effective rate of in-situ U(VI) reduction is much smaller than the values reported for laboratory experiments; (3) U(VI) sorption/desorption, which affects U(VI) bioavailability at the site, is strongly controlled by kinetics; (4) both pH and bicarbonate concentration significantly influence the sorption/desorption of U(VI), which therefore cannot be characterized by empirical isotherms; and (5) calcium-uranyl-carbonate complexes significantly influence the model performance of U(VI) reduction.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford, CA 94305-4020, USA. jianluo@ce.gatech.edu
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Frank-Andreas
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Olaf A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Cirpka
authors.forename: Wei-Min
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Nyman
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carley
authors.forename: Philip M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Jardine
authors.forename: Craig S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Criddle
authors.forename: Peter K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Kitanidis
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008954:Models, Biological; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D013431:Sulfates / Q000378:metabolism; D016999:Sulfur-Reducing Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D014501:Uranium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D009566:Nitrates; D013431:Sulfates; D014875:Water Pollutants, Radioactive; D000431:Ethanol; D014501:Uranium