Aerobic and Cometabolic MTBE Biodegradation at Novato and Port Hueneme
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 128, Issue 9
Abstract
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), a gasoline oxygenate additive, is present in groundwater aquifers at the Department of Defense Housing Facility, Novato, Calif. (Novato), and the Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, Calif. (Port Hueneme). A microcosm study was conducted to examine and compare the potential for and performance of aerobic, anaerobic, and aerobic cometabolic MTBE biodegradation processes using soils and groundwater collected from the Novato and Port Hueneme sites. Propane and butane were tested as the cometabolic growth substrates. Nitrogen requirements were tested by preparing microcosms with and without nitrate as a nitrogen source. The results of this study demonstrated the potential for aerobic MTBE biodegradation and mineralization at both sites. In the commingled, or upgradient, portion of the Novato plume, nitrate enhanced aerobic MTBE biodegradation; in the absence of nitrate or under anaerobic conditions, MTBE degradation was insignificant. Downgradient, where the groundwater was impacted only by MTBE, the MTBE was readily degraded with and without nitrate addition and without other external nutrient amendments. Mineralization studies showed that MTBE was mineralized at both sites, with maximum recoveries approaching 80% of the radiolabeled carbon added to the microcosms. In the downgradient, MTBE-only portions of both sites, the addition of propane and butane to stimulate cometabolic MTBE degradation provided negligible improvement over direct oxidation under aerobic conditions. Furthermore, when nitrate was not present, propane and butane were not degraded and the residual propane and butane in the bottles appeared to inhibit the MTBE degradation; this inhibition was most pronounced in the Port Hueneme microcosms where MTBE degradation all but ceased in the presence of residual propane and butane. In the upgradient, commingled Novato plume, propane plus nitrate-fed microcosms outperformed the aerobic, nitrate-fed microcosms; this was the only condition where cometabolism enhanced MTBE degradation over direct aerobic oxidation.
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Reference
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 128 • Issue 9 • September 2002
Pages: 883 - 890
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2002
Accepted: Mar 12, 2002
Published online: Aug 15, 2002
Published in print: Sep 2002
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