Evaluation of Biodegradation in an Aquifer Contaminated with Petroleum Hydrocarbon

To evaluate the biodegradability of contaminants in an aquifer, computer modeling with RT3D model (Clement, 1997) was used. The RT3D model simulates the biodegradation of organic contaminants using a number of aerobic and anaerobic electron acceptors. The RT3D model was applied to a well-studied petroleum hydrocarbon plume in a shallow unconfined aquifer in Uiwang, Korea. The results of this study demonstrate tile importance of biodegradation processes in the monitored natural attenuation and in reducing contaminant concentrations in a shallow aquifer. The modeling results tell that the amount of electron acceptors is the key factor affecting biodegradation of TEX, the petroleum hydrocarbon contaminant in shallow groundwater