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INTRODUCTION TO BIOREMEDIATION

INTRODUCTION TO BIOREMEDIATION. Superfund Remedial Action Technology Selected FY94. Breakdown of Sites by Type of Contaminant. Percentage of Sites Treating Each Medium . Breakdown of Process by Treatment Technology (includes laboratory-, pilot-, and full-scale). Top 9 BIOREMEDIATION METHODS.

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INTRODUCTION TO BIOREMEDIATION

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  1. INTRODUCTION TO BIOREMEDIATION

  2. Superfund Remedial Action Technology Selected FY94

  3. Breakdown of Sites by Type of Contaminant

  4. Percentage of Sites Treating Each Medium

  5. Breakdown of Process by Treatment Technology (includes laboratory-, pilot-, and full-scale)

  6. Top 9 BIOREMEDIATION METHODS

  7. ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY • The direct use of microorganism and their capabilities to solve environmental problems • Disciplines involves: engineering, molecular biology, ecological sciences

  8. Biodegradation’s relation to Environmental Biotechnology Bioremediation Direct Environmental Response Conservation Technology Cradle to Grave Biodegradation Database Pollution Wastewater Treatment Biodegradable Resource for Development Biofuels Biomass Utilisation Renewable Resources

  9. What isBIOREMEDIATION • The technology used to speed up the natural processes of waste degradation and recycling • Use of naturally occurring microorganism such as bacteria, fungi, and yeast to degrade pollutants or hazardous substances in soil, water and air into non-toxic or less toxic substances

  10. BIOREMEDIATION is a method that treats the soils and renders them non-hazardous, thus eliminating any future liability that may result from landfill problems or violations.

  11. WHY BIOREMEDIATE? • Soils contaminated with hydrocarbons may be disposed of or treated in several ways: Regulated permitted landfills, thermal incineration and bioremediation.

  12. WHY BIOREMEDIATION? • Sites awaiting clean-up (1993) • Agency Responsible Number of Sites • US EPA Superfund 1,500-2,000 • RCRA 1,500-3,000 • UST’s 295,000 • US DoD 7,300 • US DOE 19,000

  13. Why Bio? II • Adapted from Cookson, 1995 • Complete citation: U.S. EPA. 1993. Cleaning up the Nation’s waste sites: Markets and technology trends. EPA/542/B-92/003 These are mainly petroleum, VOC’s, or PCB’s

  14. Why Bioremediation? III • Frequency of Contaminant Subgroups (US EPA TIO, 1992)

  15. WHY BIOREMEDIATION? IV • US. EPA/540/N-93/001Major Waste Types Applicable to Bioremediation

  16. WHY BIOREMEDIATION? V Cost Effectiveness of Bioremediation ($)Method Year 1 Year 2 Year 3Incineration 5301 None None Solidification 115 None None Landfill 670 None None Thermal Desorption 200 None None Bioremediation 175 27 20 1 - costs are per cubic yard Adapted from Cookson, 1995

  17. TREATMENT COST • Landfill disposal costs range from $15- per m3 to over $75 per m3 depending on hydrocarbon concentration. Timing from 6 to 24 months . • Thermal incinerationis fast but  costs range from $250  to over $700 per m3 which dpends of the type of soils • Bioremediation costs range from $90  to $110 per m3. the timing is between 30 to 120 days

  18. WHY BIOREMEDIATION? VI • Some Other Advantages of Bioremediation • Can be done on site • Permanent elimination of waste (limiting liability) • Positive public acceptance • Minimum site disruption • Eliminates transportation cost and liability • Can be couple with other treatment techniques Adapted from Cookson, 1995

  19. Advantages of Using Bioremediation Processes Compared With Other Remediation Technologies • biologically-based remediation detoxifies hazardous substances instead of merely transferring contaminants from one environmental medium to another; (2) bioremediation is generally less disruptive to the environment than excavation-based processes; and (3) the cost of treating a hazardous waste site using bioremediation technologies can be considerably lower than that for conventional treatment methods: vacuuming, absorbing, burning, dispersing, or moving the material .

  20. Effective Bioremediation, Utilizing Microbial Inoculation, Basic and Absolutely Essential Requirements 1. Oxygen at a residual level of 1 ppm. or more 2. Essential inorganic nutrients 3. Microbes and substrate must be in contact 4. Water - either salt or fresh Other conditions must be taken into account, such as pH, temperature, salinity, type of contaminant,

  21. POLLUTANTS • Bio-degradable petroleum products (gas, diesel, fuel oil) •crude oil compounds (benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene) •some pesticides (malathion) •some industrial solvents •coal compounds (phenols, cyanide in coal tars and coke waste) • Partially degradable / Persistent TCE (trichlorethylene) threat to ground water •PCE (perchlorethlene) dry cleaning solvent •PCB’s (have been degraded in labs, but not in field work) •Arsenic, Chromium, Selenium • Not degradable / Recalcitrant Uranium •Mercury •DDT

  22. PAH structures

  23. Adapted from “A Citizen’s Guide to Bioremediation”, United Nation Environmental Agencies, Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, EPA 542-F-01-001

  24. CHALLENGES OF INNOVATION • Technology Quality / Success • Available Market • Investment Capital • Competent Management • Regulatory Acknowledgment • Right Timing • Good Public Perception • Good Information Dissemination

  25. Remediation Options for Organic Pollutants in Soils • Containment/landfill • Thermal desorption • Advanced organic stabilisation • Mobile catalytic chemical oxidation • Bioremediation • Landfarm • Biopile • Composting • Slurry reactors

  26. COMPARISON OF BIOREMEDIATION AND OTHER TECHNIQUES • Soil Gas Extraction: A process by which petroleum vapors are removed from the soil using wells and vacuum pumps. Volatile compounds are extracted from the area between soil particles by applying negative pressure to screened wells in the vadose zone. • Low Temperature Thermal Stripping: A process by which soil is excavated and fed into a mobile unit designed to heat the soil and drive off contaminates. • Excavation: A process which involves the digging up of contaminated soils and hauling them away.

  27. TYPES OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY • Bioaugumentation • the addition of naturally occuring microbes to sites • sites can be treated with high concentrations of specific microbes • costs little money, time and disruption • simple testing done for biocompatibility and biodegradation efficiency

  28. TYPES OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY • Biostimulation • The use of indigenous microbes • the modification of the site to promote the growth of native microbes already present • depends on necessary native microbial and organic material to be present • costs little time and money • testing appropriate microbes can be difficult and complex

  29. TECHNOLOGY-OTHER OPTIONS • Bioventing • treating soil by drawing oxygen though it to stimulate microbe growth • Composting • contaminated soils mixed with a bulking agent and exposed to air • Landfarming • adaptation of traditional farming techniques (aerating, ploughing) to contaminated areas to increase microbes activity

  30. Remediation Method Excavation-landfill Containment on-site Landfarming/Bio Co-burning Stabilisation Thermal desorption Soil washing Vapour extraction Dechlorination % Use in Australia 60-90 10-30 15-20 <5 5-10 <5 <5 <5 <1 Treatment Options for Contaminated Soilsfrom Natusch, 1997.

  31. Limitations to Bioremediation • Timescale • Residual Contaminants Levels • Inconsistency • Recalcitrant Pollutants eg DDT, PAHs • Bioavailability • Degrading microorganisms • Aqueous solubility • Toxicity

  32. ConclusionBIOREMEDIATION: • Is a process which uses naturally occurring microorganisms to enhance normal biological breakdown. • It is an effective method for treating many hazardous materials. • Of all the different processes available for clean-up of sites, Bioremediation is the best and most cost effective method for remediation, with respect to environmental liability. • The nature and location of the contamination, the type of soils and geological conditions, determine which method of remediation is best for each individual clean-up site.

  33. What is Next

  34. “Plan the Work, and Work the Plan” An Engineering Perspective •Planning the Work •what is to be done •when is it to be done •how much is the scheduled cost •who will do it •Working the Plan •budgeting & scheduling control •coordinating activities across the team •How to Evaluate & Recommend the Technology •must provide a net improvement over conventional technologies •goals must be achieved: •faster, cheaper, safer, better, etc. Cookson, 1995

  35. END OF INTRODUCTION TO BIOREMEDIATION

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