Kinetic Modeling for a Novel Permeable Reactive Biobarrier for In Situ Remediation of PAH-Contaminated Groundwater
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 5
Abstract
Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) are an environmentally friendly and cost-effective in situ remediation technology that have been used to restore polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated groundwater. However, the understanding of removal mechanisms of the pollutant from groundwater remains a challenge due to the complex interactions between microbial evolution, organic carbon kinetics, and multiple chemical reactions. In this study, a one-dimensional reactive transport model was developed to study 450-day column experiments for removal of phenanthrene from groundwater using new PRB materials A (including wheat straw) and B (including coconut shell biochar). The modeling results provided a deeper understanding of the removal process for phenanthrene, and showed that Material B had a higher removal efficiency than Material A over 34 days. The removal efficiency of phenanthrene in both Materials A and B was close to 100% in the PRB system. This was because (1) Material B had a higher adsorption capacity for phenanthrene than Material A, and adsorption played an important role in the short term (e.g., 20 days), whereas biodegradation controlled longer-term removal processes; (2) the biomass in Column B was higher () than that in Column A; and (3) Column B had a higher microbial yield coefficient that could favor longer-term microbial growth and biodegradation activity. Material B might have greater potential than Material A for longer-term remediation performance. The simulated results generally were in agreement with the experimental results and support the development of field-scale pilot testing of these materials for groundwater remediation.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFD0800201 and 2018YFC1800806), the Environmental Protection Department of Jiangsu Province of China (Grant No. 2017001-1), and the Jiangsu Provincial Water Resources Department (Grant No. 2019064) for their financial support. Cuicui Liu was supported by the China Scholarship Council (No. 201806190133).
References
Acharya, K., D. Werner, J. Dolfing, P. Meynet, S. Tabraiz, M. Q. Baluja, E. Petropoulos, W. Mrozik, and R. J. Davenport. 2019. “The experimental determination of reliable biodegradation rates for mono-aromatics towards evaluating QSBR models.” Water Res. 160 (Sep): 278–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.05.075.
Ai, S. 2007. “Traveling waves in a bioremediation model.” SIAM J. Appl. Math. 68 (3): 680–693. https://doi.org/10.1137/070685865.
Akobi, C., H. Hafez, and G. Nakhla. 2017. “Impact of furfural on biological hydrogen production kinetics from synthetic lignocellulosic hydrolysate using mesophilic and thermophilic mixed cultures.” Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 42 (17): 12159–12172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2017.03.173.
Balakrishnan, A., S. B. K. Kanchinadham, and S. B. Kalyanaraman. 2019. “Evaluation and kinetic study on enzyme supplementation to biological treatment of vegetable tanning process wastewater.” Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16 (10): 5945–5954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1985-3.
Bartzas, G., and K. Komnitsas. 2010. “Solid phase studies and geochemical modelling of low-cost permeable reactive barriers.” J. Hazard. Mater. 183 (1–3): 301–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.07.024.
Basu, A., and T. M. Johnson. 2012. “Determination of hexavalent chromium reduction using Cr stable isotopes: Isotopic fractionation factors for permeable reactive barrier materials.” Environ. Sci. Technol. 46 (10): 5353–5360. https://doi.org/10.1021/es204086y.
Berge, N. D., D. R. Reinhart, J. D. Dietz, and T. Townsend. 2007. “The impact of temperature and gas-phase oxygen on kinetics of in situ ammonia removal in bioreactor landfill leachate.” Water Res. 41 (9): 1907–1914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2007.01.049.
Boluda-Botella, N., J. Valdes-Abellan, and R. Pedraza. 2014. “Applying reactive models to column experiments to assess the hydrogeochemistry of seawater intrusion: Optimising ACUAINTRUSION and selecting cation exchange coefficients with PHREEQC.” J. Hydrol. 510 (Mar): 59–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.12.009.
Broholm, K., A. B. Hansen, P. R. Jorgensen, E. Arvin, and M. Hansen. 1999. “Transport and biodegradation of creosote compounds in a large, intact, fractured clayey till column.” J. Contam. Hydrol. 39 (3–4): 331–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7722(99)00041-8.
Caporaso, J. G., et al. 2012. “Ultra-high-throughput microbial community analysis on the Illumina HiSeq and MiSeq platforms.” ISME J. 6 (8): 1621–1624. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2012.8.
Caporaso, J. G., C. L. Lauber, W. A. Walters, D. Berg-Lyons, C. A. Lozupone, P. J. Turnbaugh, N. Fierer, and R. Knight. 2011. “Global patterns of 16S rRNA diversity at a depth of millions of sequences per sample.” Supplement, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108 (S1): 4516–4522. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000080107.
Carboneras, B., J. Villaseñor, and F. J. Fernandez-Morales. 2017. “Modelling aerobic biodegradation of atrazine and 2, 4-dichlorophenoxy acetic acid by mixed-cultures.” Bioresour. Technol. 243 (Nov): 1044–1050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2017.07.089.
Carvajal, A., I. Akmirza, D. Navia, R. Pérez, R. Muñoz, and R. Lebrero. 2018. “Anoxic denitrification of BTEX: Biodegradation kinetics and pollutant interactions.” J. Environ. Manage. 214 (May): 125–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.02.023.
Chen, T. Y., C. M. Kao, H. Y. Chiou, Y. T. Yu, and W. P. Sung. 2012. “Application of oxygen-releasing material to enhance in situ aerobic bioremediation.” In Vol. 430 of Advanced materials research. Zurich, Switzerland: Trans Tech Publications.
Chen, Z. Q., and W. F. McTernan. 1992. “Multi-substrate, multi-option groundwater transport model.” J. Contam. Hydrol. 11 (3–4): 215–244. https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-7722(92)90018-A.
Cobas, M., L. Ferreira, M. A. Sanromán, and M. Pazos. 2014. “Assessment of sepiolite as a low-cost adsorbent for phenanthrene and pyrene removal: Kinetic and equilibrium studies.” Ecol. Eng. 70 (Sep): 287–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.06.014.
Cogle, A. L., P. G. Saffigna, and W. M. Strong. 1989. “Carbon transformations during wheat straw decomposition.” Soil Biol. Biochem. 21 (3): 367–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-0717(89)90145-4.
Ebihara, T., and P. L. Bishop. 2002. “Influence of supplemental acetate on bioremediation for dissolved polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.” J. Environ. Eng. (New York) 128 (6): 505–513. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(2002)128:6(505).
Ferreira, L., M. Cobas, T. Tavares, M. A. Sanromán, and M. Pazos. 2013. “Assessment of Arthrobacter viscosus as reactive medium for forming permeable reactive biobarrier applied to PAHs remediation.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 20 (10): 7348–7354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1750-6.
Folch, A., M. Vilaplana, L. Amado, T. Vicent, and G. Caminal. 2013. “Fungal permeable reactive barrier to remediate groundwater in an artificial aquifer.” J. Hazard. Mater. 262 (Nov): 554–560. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2013.09.004.
Gandhi, S., B. T. Oh, J. L. Schnoor, and P. J. J. Alvarez. 2002. “Degradation of TCE, Cr(VI), sulfate, and nitrate mixtures by granular iron in flow-through columns under different microbial conditions.” Water Res. 36 (8): 1973–1982. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(01)00409-2.
Geng, X. L., M. C. Boufadel, and B. Wrenn. 2013. “Mathematical modeling of the biodegradation of residual hydrocarbon in a variably-saturated sand column.” Biodegradation 24 (2): 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-012-9566-5.
Hannam, M. L., S. D. Bamber, T. S. Galloway, A. J. Moody, and M. B. Jones. 2010. “Effects of the model PAH phenanthrene on immune function and oxidative stress in the haemolymph of the temperate scallop Pecten maximus.” Chemosphere 78 (7): 779–784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2009.12.049.
Haritash, A. K., and C. P. Kaushik. 2009. “Biodegradation aspects of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): A review.” J. Hazard. Mater. 169 (1–3): 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.03.137.
Kohfahl, C., and A. Pekdeger. 2006. “Rising groundwater tables in partly oxidized pyrite bearing dump-sediments: Column study and modelling approach.” J. Hydrol. 331 (3–4): 703–718. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.06.011.
Krishnan, J., A. A. Kishore, A. Suresh, B. Madhumeetha, and D. G. Prakash. 2017. “Effect of pH, inoculum dose and initial dye concentration on the removal of azo dye mixture under aerobic conditions.” Int. Biodeterior. Biodegradation 119 (Apr): 16–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2016.11.024.
Lee, Y.-Y., and C. Fan. 2020. “Mechanistic exploration of the catalytic modification by co-dissolved organic molecules for micropollutant degradation during fenton process.” Chemosphere 258 (Nov): 127338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127338.
Lin, C. W., C. H. Wu, P. Y. Guo, and S. H. Chang. 2017. “Innovative encapsulated oxygen-releasing beads for bioremediation of BTEX at high concentration in groundwater.” J. Environ. Manage. 204 (Dec): 12–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2017.05.035.
Liu, C. C., X. H. Chen, E. E. Mack, S. Wang, W. C. Du, Y. Yin, S. A. Banwart, and H. Y. Guo. 2019. “Evaluating a novel permeable reactive bio-barrier to remediate PAH-contaminated groundwater.” J. Hazard. Mater. 368 (Apr): 444–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.01.069.
Lokshina, L. Y., V. A. Vavilin, R. H. Kettunen, J. A. Rintala, C. Holliger, and A. N. Nozhevnikova. 2001. “Evaluation of kinetic coefficients using integrated Monod and Haldane models for low-temperature acetoclastic methanogenesis.” Water Res. 35 (12): 2913–2922. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(00)00595-9.
McClure, P. D., and B. E. Sleep. 1996. “Simulation of bioventing for soil and ground-water remediation.” J. Environ. Eng. 122 (11): 1003–1012. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9372(1996)122:11(1003).
Mohanty, S. K., R. Valenca, A. W. Berger, I. K. M. Yu, X. N. Xiong, T. M. Saunders, and D. C. W. Tsang. 2018. “Plenty of room for carbon on the ground: Potential applications of biochar for stormwater treatment.” Sci. Total Environ. 625 (Jun): 1644–1658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.037.
Moscoso, F., F. J. Deive, M. A. Longo, and M. A. Sanroman. 2012. “Technoeconomic assessment of phenanthrene degradation by Pseudomonas stutzeri CECT 930 in a batch bioreactor.” Bioresour. Technol. 104 (Jan): 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2011.10.053.
Obiri-Nyarko, F., J. Kwiatkowska-Malina, G. Malina, and T. Kasela. 2015. “Geochemical modelling for predicting the long-term performance of zeolite-PRB to treat lead contaminated groundwater.” J. Contam. Hydrol. 177 (Jun): 76–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jconhyd.2015.03.007.
Pantić, K., Z. J. Bajić, Z. S. Veličković, J. Z. Nešić, M. B. Đolić, N. Z. Tomić, and A. D. Marinković. 2019. “Arsenic removal by copper-impregnated natural mineral tufa part II: A kinetics and column adsorption study.” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 26 (23): 24143–24161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05547-7.
Safdari, M. S., H. R. Kariminia, M. Rahmati, F. Fazlollahi, A. Polasko, S. Mahendra, W. V. Wilding, and T. H. Fletcher. 2018. “Development of bioreactors for comparative study of natural attenuation, biostimulation, and bioaugmentation of petroleum-hydrocarbon contaminated soil.” J. Hazard. Mater. 342 (Jan): 270–278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2017.08.044.
Sponza, D. T., and O. Gok. 2011. “Effects of sludge retention time and biosurfactant on the treatment of polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) in a petrochemical industry wastewater.” Water Sci. Technol. 64 (11): 2282–2292. https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2011.734.
Tebes-Stevens, C., A. J. Valocchi, J. M. VanBriesen, and B. E. Rittmann. 1998. “Multicomponent transport with coupled geochemical and microbiological reactions: Model description and example simulations.” J. Hydrol. 209 (1–4): 8–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(98)00104-8.
Verce, M. F., R. L. Ulrich, and D. L. Freedman. 2000. “Characterization of an isolate that uses vinyl chloride as a growth substrate under aerobic conditions.” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 66 (8): 3535–3542. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.66.8.3535-3542.2000.
Waigi, M. G., F. X. Kang, C. Goikavi, W. T. Ling, and Y. Z. Gao. 2015. “Phenanthrene biodegradation by sphingomonads and its application in the contaminated soils and sediments: A review.” Int. Biodeterior. Biodegradation 104 (Oct): 333–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2015.06.008.
Wang, P., Y. M. Zhang, J. Jin, T. H. Wang, J. Wang, and B. Y. Jiang. 2020. “A high-efficiency phenanthrene-degrading Diaphorobacter sp. isolated from PAH-contaminated river sediment.” Sci. Total Environ. 746 (Dec): 140455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140455.
Wu, C. F., T. Shimaoka, H. Nakayama, and T. Komiya. 2015. “Kinetics of nitrous oxide production by denitrification in municipal solid waste.” Chemosphere 125 (Apr): 64–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.01.025.
Yeh, C. H., C. W. Lin, and C. H. Wu. 2010. “A permeable reactive barrier for the bioremediation of BTEX-contaminated groundwater: Microbial community distribution and removal efficiencies.” J. Hazard. Mater. 178 (1–3): 74–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.01.045.
Zhang, J. M., X. C. Jiang, C. P. Feng, and H. L. Hao. 2017. “Wheat straw, sawdust, and biodegradable plastics as potential carbon sources for synthetic nitrate-polluted groundwater column denitrification.” Desalination Water Treat. 77 (May): 321–330. https://doi.org/10.5004/dwt.2017.20765.
Zhang, M., Y. D. Feng, D. Y. Zhang, L. F. Dong, and X. L. Pan. 2019. “Ozone-encapsulated colloidal gas aphrons for in situ and targeting remediation of phenanthrene-contaminated sediment-aquifer.” Water Res. 160 (Sep): 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2019.05.043.
Zhang, W. C., J. Q. Zhu, X. G. Zhou, and F. H. Li. 2018. “Effects of shallow groundwater table and fertilization level on soil physico-chemical properties, enzyme activities, and winter wheat yield.” Agr. Water Manage. 208 (Sep): 307–317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.06.039.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 5 • May 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 31, 2020
Accepted: Jan 5, 2022
Published online: Feb 28, 2022
Published in print: May 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Jul 28, 2022
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.