(92m) Altus Afb Bio-Batch Study

The BiRD process is used to degrade chlorinated hydrocarbons found in many contamination sites found across the country. In this case Altus Air Force in Altus Oklahoma was studied with a heavy contamination of trichloroethane.

Aqueous and Mineral Intrinsic Bioremediation Assessment (AMIBA) is a method developed to assess natural attenuation based on microbial/contaminant/mineral interactions. Previously, AMIBA has been used to estimate the natural attenuation potential of fuel hydrocarbons. At Altus Air Force Base, AMIBA is being used to examine the potential for in-situ engineered remediation of Chlorinated Aliphatic Compounds (CAHs), by determining the efficacy of using microbial generated mineral FeS to destroy trichloroethene (TCE).

Microbial Reductive Dechlorination (MRD) also called biostimulation, and Biogeochemical Reductive Dechlorination (BiRD) are the two routes that bioremediation of Chlorinated Aliphatic Hydrocarbons follow. For the MRD route, oxidized CAHs are used as electron acceptor compounds by bacteria oxidizing a complimentary organic. For BiRD, common bacterial respiration can cause the precipitation of reduced minerals, predominantly iron sulfides, which in turn facilitate reductive dechlorination through abiotic processes. While both dechlorination routes can occur naturally or by engineered design, this study shows how BiRD is more effective by leaving no harmful daughter products after TCE is removed.