Hydrological, Geochemical and Microbiological Controls On Anaerobic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation In a Petroleum-Contaminated Aquifer

9523932石油污染含水层中厌氧芳香烃降解的可爱的水文、地球化学和微生物控制由于陆地石油泄漏和地下储罐泄漏而导致的石油产品对地下水的污染是一个严重的环境问题。 苯和甲苯等有毒芳烃是许多燃料的重要组成部分，它们是水溶性的，因此会随着地下水迁移。 尽管有氧微生物在氧气存在时可以容易地降解芳烃，但大多数严重污染的地下沃茨缺乏氧气。 近年来的研究表明，在无氧条件下，存在能够降解地下水中芳烃污染物的微生物。 这些厌氧微生物使用三价铁或硫酸盐作为电子受体，而不是氧气来降解芳烃。 在某些情况下，这种厌氧微生物代谢可以从被污染的地下沃茨中去除大量的芳烃，并可以减轻对昂贵的补救程序的需要。 本研究的目的是确定哪些微生物负责石油污染的含水层中的芳烃的降解，并阐明可能刺激或抑制这种微生物活性的环境条件。 将采用几种新技术研究含水层中的微生物种群，其中包括一种新开发的分子方法，这种方法可以快速筛选沉积物中的微生物种群，而无需培养微生物。 水文和地球化学条件的变化对负责芳烃降解的厌氧微生物种群的规模和活动的影响将通过实地观察和在实验室培养中实验操作的含水层材料进行评估。预计这些研究将确定关键参数，可用于简单可靠地预测石油污染环境中厌氧芳香烃降解的速率和程度。 ??

9523932 Lovely Hydrological, Geochemical and Microbiological Controls on Anaerobic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Degradation in a Petroleum-Contaminated Aquifer Contamination of ground water with petroleum products as the result of terrestrial oil spills and leaking underground storage tanks is a serious environmental problem. Toxic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene and toluene which are important components of many fuels are water soluble and thus migrate with the ground water. Although aerobic microorganisms can readily degrade aromatic hydrocarbons when oxygen is present, most heavily contaminated ground waters lack oxygen. Recent studies have demonstrated that there are microorganisms which can degrade aromatic hydrocarbon contaminants in ground water in the absence of oxygen. These anaerobic microorganisms use ferric iron or sulfate as an electron acceptor for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons rather than oxygen. In some instances this anaerobic microbial metabolism can remove significant quantities of aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated ground waters and may alleviate the need for expensive remediation procedures. The purpose of this research is to determine what microorganisms are responsible for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum-contaminated aquifers and to elucidate the environmental conditions which might stimulate or inhibit this microbial activity. Microbial populations in the aquifer will be studied with several novel techniques including a newly developed molecular method which permits rapid screening of the microbial populations in the sediments without the need to culture the microorganisms. The effect of changes in hydrological and geochemical conditions on the size and activity of the anaerobic microbial populations responsible for aromatic hydrocarbon degradation will be evaluated with field observations and in aquifer material that is experimentally manipulated in laboratory incubations. It is expected that these studies will identify key p arameters which can be used to simply and reliably predict the rate and extent of anaerobic romatic hydrocarbon degradation in petroleum-contaminated environments. ??