Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX) are a group of monoaromatic petroleum-derived pollutants. Dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria are able to obtain energy for growth and function by coupling the oxidation of organic compounds and the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) in a subsurface environment. Batch experiments were conducted to study the effects of groundwater geochemical compositions on the degradation of BTEX coupled to microbial dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction. Results indicated that, the BTEX degradation coupled to microbial dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction could be described as pseudo-first-order kinetics, the order of BTEX degradation rate exhibited xylene>ethylbenzene>toluene>benzene. Cations and anions underwent inhibition-dominated reactions (carbonate, calcium, and magnesium) or enhancement-dominated reactions (bicarbonate and sulfate) on degradation of BTEX: (1) lower concentrations of carbonate, calcium, and magnesium enhanced the BTEX degradation, whereas higher concentrations exhibited inhibition of BTEX degradation; (2) increase in bicarbonate concentrations led to a higher BTEX removal efficiency; (3) it was found that removal of BTEX was accelerated at concentrations of SO₄²⁻<200 mg/L, and was proportional to BTEX removal efficiency. Therefore, groundwater geochemical compositions have profound effects on degradation of BTEX coupled to dissimilatory Fe(III) reduction, which has important significance for removing of aromatic compounds from a contaminated aquifer.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Agrawal

, Ferguson

W.J.

, Gardner

B.O.

, Christ

J.A.

, Bandstra

J.Z.

, and Tratnyek

P.G.

(2002). Effects of carbonate species on the kinetics of dechlorination of 1,1,1-trichloroethane by zero-valent iron. Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 4326.

Anderson

R.T.

(1998). Anaerobic benzene oxidation in the Fe(III) reduction zone of petroleum-contaminated aquifers. Environ. Sci. Technol., 32, 1222.

Anderson

R.T.

, and Lovley

D.R.

(1999). Naphthalene and benzene degradation under Fe(III)-reducing conditions in petroleum-contaminated aquifers. Biorem. J., 3, 121.

Arnold

W.A.

, and Roberts

A.L.

(2000). Pathways and kinetics of chlorinated ethylene and chlorinated acetylene reaction with Fe(0) particles. Environ. Sci. Technol., 34, 1794.

Cummings

D.E.

, March

A.W.

, and Bostick

(2000). Evidence for microbial Fe(III) reduction in anoxic, mining- impacted lake sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 66, 154.

D'Andrea

, Lai

K.C.K.

, Kjeldsen

, and Lo

I.M.C.

(2005). Effect of groundwater inorganics on the reductive dechlorination of TCE by zero-valent iron. Water Air Soil Pollut., 162, 401.

Dean

B.J.

(1985). Recent findings on the genetic toxicology of benzene, toluene, xylene and phenols. Mutat. Res., 154, 153.

Devlin

J.F.

, and Allin

K.O.

(2005). Major anion effects on the kinetics and reactivity of granular iron in glass-encased magnet batch reactor experiments. Environ. Sci. Technol., 39, 1868.

Erping

B.I.

, Bowen

, and Devlin

J.F.

(2009). Effect of mixed anions (HCO₃⁻-SO₄²⁻-ClO₄⁻) on granular iron (Fe⁰) reactivity. Environ. Sci. Technol., 43, 5975.

10.

Jeen

S.W.

, Gillham

R.W.

, and Blowes

D.W.

(2006). Effects of carbonate precipitates on long-term performance of granular iron for reductive dechlorination of TCE. Environ. Sci. Technol., 40, 6432.

11.

Jiang

Y.P.

, Huang

Z.W.

, Chen

Y.D.

, and Cheng

Y.P.

(2005). Natural attenuation and anaerobic biodegradation of BTEX compounds in groundwater contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons. J. GuiLin Inst. Technol., 25, 186.

12.

Klausen

, Ranke

, and Schwarzenbach

R.P.

(2001). Influence of solution composition and column aging on the reduction of nitroaromatic compounds by zero-valent iron. Chemosphere, 44, 511.

13.

Klausen

, Vikesland

P.J.

, Kohn

, Burris

D.R.

, Ball

W.P.

, and Roberts

A.L.

(2003). Longevity of granular iron in groundwater treatment processes: Solution composition effects on reduction of organohalides and nitroaromatic compounds. Environ. Sci. Technol., 37, 1208.

14.

I.M.C.

, Lam

C.S.C.

, and Lai

K.C.K.

(2006). Hardness and carbonate effects on the reactivity of zero-valent iron for Cr(VI) removal. Water Res., 40, 595.

15.

Lovley

D.R.

(1987). Organic matter mineralization with the reduction of ferric iron: A review. Geomicrobiology, 5, 375.

16.

Lovley

D.R.

(1991). Dissimilatory iron(III) and manganese(IV) reduction. Microbiol. Rev., 55, 259.

17.

Lovley

D.R.

(1995). Bioremediation of organic and metal contaminants with dissimilatory metal reduction. Ind. Microbiol., 14, 85.

18.

Lovley

D.R.

(1997). Potential for anaerobic bioremediation of BTEX in petroleum-contaminated aquifers. Ind. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 18, 75.

19.

Lovley

D.R.

, Baedecker

M.J.

, and Lonergan

D.J.

(1989). Oxidation of aromatic contaminants coupled to microbial iron reduction. Nature, 339, 297.

20.

Lovley

D.R.

, and Lonergan

D.J.

(1990). Anaerobic oxidation of toluene, phenol, and para-cresol by the dissimilatory iron-reducing organism, GS-15. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 56, 1858.

21.

McCormick

M.L.

, Bouwer

E.J.

, and Adriaens

(2002). Carbon tetrachloride transformation in a model iron-reducing culture: Relative kinetics of biotic and abiotic reactions. Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 403.

22.

Parbs

, Ebert

, and Dahmke

(2007). Long-term effects of dissolved carbonate species on the degradation of trichloroethylene by zerovalent iron. Environ. Sci. Technol., 41, 291.

23.

Pekov

I.V.

, Perchiazzi

, Merlino

, Kalachev

V.N.

, Merlini

, and Zadov

A.E.

(2007). Chukanovite, Fe₂(CO₃)(OH)₂, a new mineral from the weathered iron meteorite dronino. Eur. J. Mineral., 19, 891.

24.

Phillips

D.H.

, Gu

, Watson

D.B.

, et al. (2000). Performance evaluation of a zerovalent iron reactive barrier: Mineralogical characteristics. Environ. Sci. Technol., 34, 4169.

25.

Roden

E.E.

, and Wetzel

R.G.

(2002). Kinetics of microbial Fe(III) oxide reduction in freshwater wetland sediments. Limnol. Oceanogr., 47, 198.

26.

Royer

R.A.

, Burgos

W.D.

, Fisher

A.S.

, Jeon

B.H.

, Unz

R.F.

, and Dempsey

B.A.

(2002). Enhancement of hematite bioreduction by natural organic matter. Environ. Sci. Technol., 36, 2897.

27.

Schwertmann

, and Cornell

R.M.

(1991). Iron oxides in the laboratory: Preparation and characterization. Weinheim: VCH, p. 137.

28.

Suk

O.J.

, Jeen

S.W.

, Gillham

R.W.

, et al. (2009). Effects of initial iron corrosion rate on long-term performance of iron permeable reactive barriers: Column experiments and numerical simulation. Contam. Hydrol., 103, 145.

29.

Tobler

N.B.

, Hofstetter

T.B.

, and Schwarzenbach

R.P.

(2007). Assessing iron-mediated oxidation of toluene and reduction of nitroaromatic contaminants in anoxic environments using compound-specific isotope analysis. Environ. Sci. Technol., 41, 7773.

30.

Van Cappellen

, and Wang

(1996). Cycling of iron and manganese in surface sediments: A general theory for the coupled transport and reaction of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, iron, and manganese. Am. J. Sci., 296, 197.

31.

Williams

A.G.B.

, and Scherer

M.M.

(2001). Kinetics of Cr(VI) reduction by carbonate green rust. Environ. Sci. Technol., 35, 3488.

32.

Zhang

, and Han

(2002). Characteristic of petroleum-derived hydrocarbons for natural attenuation in groundwater. Sci. Circum. Chongqing, 24, 187.

Effects of Groundwater Geochemical Constituents on Degradation of Benzene,Toluene,Ethylbenzene,and Xylene Coupled to Microbial Dissimilatory Fe(III) Reduction

Abstract

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References