Biological treatment of soils contaminated with hydrophobic organics using slurry- and solid-phase techniques

Daniel H. Cassidy; Robert L. Irvine

doi:10.1117/12.224102

9 October 1995 Biological treatment of soils contaminated with hydrophobic organics using slurry- and solid-phase techniques

Daniel H. Cassidy, Robert L. Irvine

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 2504, Environmental Monitoring and Hazardous Waste Site Remediation; (1995) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.224102
Event: European Symposium on Optics for Environmental and Public Safety, 1995, Munich, Germany

Abstract

Both slurry-phase and solid-phase bioremediation are effective ex situ soil decontamination methods. Slurrying is energy intensive relative to solid-phase treatment, but provides homogenization and uniform nutrient distribution. Limited contaminant bioavailability at concentrations above the required cleanup level reduces biodegradation rates and renders solid phase bioremediation more cost effective than complete treatment in a bio-slurry reactor. Slurrying followed by solid-phase bioremediation combines the advantages and minimizes the weaknesses of each treatment method when used alone. A biological treatment system consisting of slurrying followed by aeration in solid phase bioreactors was developed and tested in the laboratory using a silty clay loam contaminated with diesel fuel. The first set of experiments was designed to determine the impact of the water content and mixing time during slurrying on the rate an extent of contaminant removal in continuously aerated solid phase bioreactors. The second set of experiments compared the volatile and total diesel fuel removal in solid phase bioreactors using periodic and continuous aeration strategies. Results showed that slurrying for 1.5 hours at a water content less than saturation markedly increased the rate and extent of contaminant biodegradation in the solid phase bioreactors compared with soil having no slurry pretreatment. Slurrying the soil at or above its saturation moisture content resulted in lengthy dewatering times which prohibited aeration, thereby delaying the onset of biological treatment in the solid phase bioreactors. Results also showed that properly operated periodic aeration can provide less volatile contaminant removal and a grater fraction of biological contaminant removal than continuous aeration.

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Daniel H. Cassidy and Robert L. Irvine "Biological treatment of soils contaminated with hydrophobic organics using slurry- and solid-phase techniques", Proc. SPIE 2504, Environmental Monitoring and Hazardous Waste Site Remediation, (9 October 1995); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.224102

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