Site investigation and modeling of surface application for in situ bioremediation of JP-4 jet fuel

• Main Author: Sweed, Howard Gabriel
• Other Authors: Bedient, Philip B.
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Environmental Sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1911/13905

Surface application offers an inexpensive, non-invasive alternative to injection wells and infiltration galleries for in situ bioremediation applications. The technology employs artificial recharge to create favorable hydraulic conditions for mixing and vertical transport of electron acceptor and nutrients. A field scale infiltration test and a conservative tracer test qualitatively indicated the feasibility of transporting solutes to the subsurface via recharging water. Modeling of the experiments provided quantitative estimates of site specific hydrogeologic and transport parameters. Results also indicated that dilution was a dominant BTEX attenuation mechanism during the experiment. Models calibrated to data from the infiltration experiment were scaled up for the design of nitrate delivery system for a pilot scale, bioremediation experiment to study enhanced in situ biodegradation of BTEX under denitrifying conditions. Modeling results suggest that dilution effects and stimulation of aerobic processes by oxygen in the recharging water may limit the effectiveness of the experiment.