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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Successful Treatment Of An Mtbe-Impacted Aquifer Using A Bioreactor Self-Colonized By Native Aquifer Bacteria, Kristin A. Hicks, Radomir Schmidt, Michael G. Nickelsen, Susan L. Boyle, Jeffrey M. Baker, Paul M. Tornatore, Krassimira R. Hristova, Kate M. Scow
Successful Treatment Of An Mtbe-Impacted Aquifer Using A Bioreactor Self-Colonized By Native Aquifer Bacteria, Kristin A. Hicks, Radomir Schmidt, Michael G. Nickelsen, Susan L. Boyle, Jeffrey M. Baker, Paul M. Tornatore, Krassimira R. Hristova, Kate M. Scow
Biological Sciences Faculty Research and Publications
A field-scale fixed bed bioreactor was used to successfully treat an MTBE-contaminated aquifer in North Hollywood, CA without requiring inoculation with introduced bacteria. Native bacteria from the MTBE-impacted aquifer rapidly colonized the bioreactor, entering the bioreactor in the contaminated groundwater pumped from the site, and biodegraded MTBE with greater than 99 % removal efficiency. DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene identified MTBE-degrading bacteria Methylibium petroleiphilum in the bioreactor. Quantitative PCR showed M. petroleiphilum enriched by three orders of magnitude in the bioreactor above densities pre-existing in the groundwater. Because treatment was carried out by indigenous rather than introduced organisms, …