Accelerated in situ bioremediation of groundwater

In situ bioremediation, as applied in this project, is based on the principal of biostimulation: supplying nutrients to indigenous microbes to stimulate their metabolic activity and subsequent degradation of contaminants. Typically, a network of injection and extraction wells are used to recirculate groundwater into which amendments are added and distributed within the aquifer. The objective of the in situ process is to create in the aquifer a microbially active zone that maximizes contaminant destruction while controlling the distribution of microbial growth. It is important to control microbial growth to avoid plugging the aquifer near the injection well and to establish and sustain maximum treatment zones for each injection well. Figure I illustrates this concept for in situ bioremediation. The technology described herein is innovative in its use of the computer-based Accelerated Bioremediation Design Tool (ABDT) to aid in selecting appropriate system designs and to determine optimal operating strategies. In addition, numerical simulations within the design tool proved to be valuable during remediation operations to determine appropriate changes in the` operating strategy as the bioremediation process progressed. This is particularly important because in situ bioremediation is not a steady- state process, and corrective actions to operating parameters are typically needed to maintain both rapid destruction rates and hydraulic containment