A new bioremediation approach in the treatment of petroleum‐contaminated groundwater

The objective of this research is to determine the feasibility of enhanced bioremediation with oxygen‐releasing compound (ORC) of petroleum‐contaminated groundwater. Total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and its most important components benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) may be degraded via biological activities under aerobic conditions. The ORC can supply oxygen when needed, as can other chemical oxygen sources like hydrogen peroxide and calcium peroxide, but the ORC has several important advantages. The concentrations of TPH and BTEX were reduced to almost 99% of the original in the ORC batch due to high microbial activity. In contrast, only a 18.9% reduction of TPH and a 2.1 % reduction of the total BTEX were found in the control batch after two weeks of incubation. It is suggested that this improved biodégradation process, which poses high treatment efficiency in a short period, may be a good approach for field applications such as soil and groundwater remediation.

Key words:

• Groundwater
• soil
• oxygen‐releasing compound
• biodegradation
• petroleum‐contamination
• remediation