Correlation between Biomarker Concentrations and Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Rates to Enhance the Selection and Performance Assessment of Bioremediation and Natural Attenuation

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ABSTRACT CBET-0729700Pedro AlvarezRice UniversityCorrelation between Biomarker Concentrations and HydrocarbonBiodegradation Rates to Enhance the Selection and PerformanceAssessment of Bioremediation and Natural AttenuationThis two-year exploratory project will examine genetic biomarkers for hydrocarbon degradation under anaerobic conditions. The project will test the reliability of various genetic biomarkers to quantitatively query for the presence of specific degraders of aromatic hydrocarbons (benzene, toluene, xylene (BTX)), and use this information to estimate degradation rates and their spatial variability in contaminated ground-water environments. The proposed research addresses a very problematic pollutant, benzene, which drives remediation costs and decisions at many sites. The correlation of genetic markers with first-order degradation rates could yield a powerful tool for project management?a faster and less expensive method to assess the potential for natural attenuation of important aromatic hydrocarbon pollutants in contaminated aquifers.