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Biodegradation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in Soil as Affected by Heating and Forced Aeration

Environmental Technology, Alberta Research Council, Bag 4000, Vegreville, AB T9C 1T4, Canada.

^* Corresponding author (jxu{at}arc.ab.ca).

ABSTRACT

Quantifying the biodegradation rate of organic contaminants is important in designing and evaluating bioremediation treatments and facilities. To study the effects of temperature and forced aeration on the biodegradation rate, a soil collected from a pipeline break site and contaminated with crude oil was bioremediated in a field-operated bioreactor near Nevis, AB, Canada under four treatments: a control with ambient temperature (averaging 20°C) and no forced aeration; heating alone (averaging 35°C); forced aeration alone (air flux was 0.4 1 min^–1 m^–2); and both heating and forced aeration. The soil was aggregated, amended with N and P fertilizers and packed 15-cm deep to a bulk density of 0.65 Mg m^–3 in the bioreactor. The effect of temperature on the biodegradation rate of hydrocarbons was also studied under laboratory conditions for temperatures ranging from 5 to 50°C. Both heating and forced aeration significantly affected the biodegradation of hydrocarbons, but the effect of the former was greater. Under laboratory conditions, the biodegradation rate of hydrocarbons increased with temperatures, peaking between 30 and 40°C. The half-lives of the hydrocarbons remaining in soil in the field-operated bioreactor were 105 d for both the heating alone and the heating and forced aeration treatments, 182 d for the forced aeration treatment and 248 d for the control.