NSERC/CO-OP Industrial Research Chair in In Situ Remediation and Risk Assessment

在IRC计划的第一阶段，我们开发并展示了一种可靠的技术，可以在六个被汽油或柴油污染的地点将碳氢化合物减少90%以上。本项目第二任期的目标是开发将土壤中的碳氢化合物进一步降低到最低水平的方法。我们假设存在磷酸盐、镁、柠檬酸盐、硫酸盐、铁和硝酸盐等肥料成分的最佳平衡，这将刺激一个强大的降解微生物群落。我们将开发新的方法来计算许多不同草原土壤类型的最佳平衡。为了开发新的计算方法，我们将确定与成功修复相关的微生物和离子的平衡，然后创建一种新的肥料组合，以刺激整个加拿大西部成功的修复。我们假设，添加到生物刺激溶液中的有机或脂肪酸可能是这一阶段修复的关键，或者存在与痕量修复相关的有机磷化合物。或者，微生物和矿物之间的相互作用在非常低的碳浓度下可能会变得更加重要，我们需要了解矿物是如何控制修复的。IRC第一个学期为36名人员提供了培训，其中20名是女性，第二个阶段设想再培训19到40名人员。学生们很容易在环境部门找到工作，因为他们与行业密切合作，培养软技能和商业网络。在这种情况下，IRC计划为学生提供了一个理想的桥梁，让他们从学术培训过渡到他们选择的研究领域的就业。在IRC的第二个学期结束时，我们将开发、部署和验证一种经济上可行的方法

In the first term of this IRC program, we developed and demonstrated a reliable technique to reducehydrocarbons by over 90% at six sites polluted with gasoline or diesel. The goal of the second term of this IRCis to develop approaches that will further reduce hydrocarbons in soil to minimal levels.We hypothesize that there is an optimal balance of fertilizer components such as phosphate, magnesium,citrate, sulfate, iron, and nitrate that will stimulate a robust degrading microbial community. We will developnew ways to calculate what this optimal balance across the many different Prairie soil types.To develop the new calculations, we will identify the balance of microbes and ions associated with successfulremediation and then create a new fertilizer mix that will stimulate successful remediation across westernCanada. We hypothesize that organic or fatty acids added to the biostimulatory solution may be critical to thistrace remediation, or that there is an organic phosphorus compound associated with trace remediation.Alternatively, the interactions between microbes and minerals may increase in importance at very lowhydrocarbon concentrations and we need to understand how minerals control remediation.The first IRC term provided training for 36 personnel, of which 20 were women, and the second phaseenvisions training an additional 19 to 40 personnel. Students readily found employment in the environmentalsector because the students work closely with industry, building soft skills and a business network. In so doing,the IRC program provides an ideal bridge for students to cross from their academic training to employment intheir chosen field of study.At the conclusion of this second term of the IRC, we will have developed, deployed and validated aneconomically viable method