Dechlorination after thermal treatment of a TCE-contaminated aquifer: laboratory experiments.

A microcosm study was conducted to evaluate dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) to ethene and survival of dechlorinating bacteria after a thermal treatment in order to explore the potential for post-thermal bioremediation. Unamended microcosms containing groundwater and aquifer material from a contaminated site dechlorinated TCE to cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE), while lactate-amended microcosms dechlorinated TCE to cDCE or ethene. A thermal treatment was simulated by heating a sub-set of microcosms to 100 degrees C for 10d followed by cooling to 10 degrees C over 150 d. The heated microcosms demonstrated no dechlorination when unamended. However, when amended with lactate, cDCE was produced in 2 out of 6 microcosms within 300 d after heating. Dechlorination of TCE to cDCE thus occurred in fewer heated (2 out of 12) than unheated (10 out of 12) microcosms. In unheated microcosms, the presence of dechlorinating microorganisms, including Dehalococcoides, was confirmed using nested PCR of 16S rRNA genes. Dechlorinating microorganisms were detected in fewer microcosms after heating, and Dehalococcoides were not detected in any microcosms after heating. Dechlorination may therefore be limited after a thermal treatment in areas that have been heated to 100 degrees C. Thus, inflow of groundwater containing dechlorinating microorganisms and/or bioaugmention may be needed for anaerobic dechlorination to occur after a thermal treatment.

Anaerobic dechlorination and redox activities after full-scale Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH) of a TCE-contaminated aquifer.

The effects of Electrical Resistance Heating (ERH) on dechlorination of TCE and redox conditions were investigated in this study. Aquifer and groundwater samples were collected prior to and after ERH treatment, where sediments were heated to approximately 100 degrees C. Sediment samples were collected from three locations and examined in microcosms for 250 to 400 days of incubation. Redox activities, in terms of consumed electron acceptors, were low in unamended microcosms with field-heated sediments, although they increased upon lactate-amendment. TCE was not dechlorinated or stalled at cDCE with field-heated sediments, which was similar or lower compared to the degree of dechlorination in unheated microcosms. However, in microcosms which were bioaugmented with a mixed anaerobic dechlorinating culture (KB-1) and lactate, dechlorination past cDCE to ethene was observed in field-heated sediments. Dechlorination and redox activities in microcosms with field-heated sediments were furthermore compared with controlled laboratory-heated microcosms, which were heated to 100 degrees C for 10 days and then slowly cooled to 10 degrees C. In laboratory-heated microcosms, TCE was not dechlorinated and redox activities remained low in unamended and lactate-amended sediments, although organic carbon was released to the aqueous phase. In contrast, in field-heated sediments, high aqueous concentrations of organic carbon were not observed in unamended microcosms, and TCE was dechlorinated to cDCE upon lactate amendment. This suggests that dechlorinating microorganisms survived the ERH or that groundwater flow through field-heated sediments carried microorganisms into the treated area and transported dissolved organic carbon downstream.

Technologies for in situ cleanup of contaminated sites.

Groundwater contamination by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) and denser than water non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) poses one of the greatest remedial challenges in the field of environmental engineering. Due to low water solubilities and aqueous diffusivities, conventional pump-and-treat technologies have a poor record of success in remediation of DNAPL contaminated aquifers. Better success has been found with the removal of volatile LNAPLs due to higher gaseous diffusivities, propensity for aerobic biodegradation, and ease of pumping and handling large quantities of gas. An evaluation of in situ cleanup technologies on the basis of their applicability to in situ treatment of NAPL contaminated aquifers is presented. Emphasis is placed on treatment of the separate phase occurring in the saturated zone. Soil washing, air sparging, biodegradation, electro-osmosis, enhanced steam extraction, stabilization/solidification, treatment walls, radio frequency heating, and containment systems and barriers are among the in situ technologies reviewed. In the context of the governing contaminant fate and transport processes, the relative merits of each technology are assessed on the basis of its theoretical background, field implementability, level of demonstration and performance, waste, technical and site applicability/limitations, commercial availability, and cost and residuals management.