HORSHAM, Pa. — Penn E&R personnel completed an in situ bioremediation project to remediate soil and groundwater at a former industrial site. Significant concentrations of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), including trichloroethene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) were observed at the site. The industrial property formerly contained two above-ground solvent TCE and PCE storage tanks, and various releases resulted in significant impacts to site soils and groundwater.
Penn E&R designed and constructed an injection system to distribute a bioremediation treatment solution. Penn E&R amended treated groundwater by mixing in a vegetable oil-based carbon substrate and then injected the resulting treatment solution into the aquifer to promote bioremediation. The carbon substrate and nutrients created favorable geochemical conditions in the groundwater for microbial populations and consequently promoted a natural process of anaerobic biodegradation to reduce CVOCs to non-toxic daughter products.
Penn E&R injected approximately 14,300 gallons of the treatment solution during July 2016. Once anaerobic conditions are established in the aquifer, bioaugmentation of the aquifer was executed by introducing dehalococcoides, a cultured microbial population capable of degrading TCE and PCE completely to their non-toxic daughter product of ethene. CVOC concentrations in groundwater and various other parameters were monitored and analyzed monthly to monitor the effectiveness of the bioremediation.
KEY PROJECT FEATURES INCLUDE:
- Design and implementation of bioremediation system
- Monitoring of bioremediation system
- Installation and development of injection wells
- Clean-water testing to monitor injection rates, pressures, and volumes
- Baseline, interim, and attainment groundwater sampling
- Data analysis and reporting
