• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.36 no.3
• /
• pp.191-200
• /
• 2003

Investigations on the contaminated lands due to heavy metals from mining activities or hydrocarbons from oil spillage for example, should be planned based on specific fitness-for-purpose criteria(FFP criteria). A FFP criterion is site specific or varies with situation, based on which not only the data quality but also the decision quality can be determined. The limiting factors on the qualities can be, for example, the total budget for the investigation, regulatory guidance or expert's subjective fitness-for-purpose criterion. This paper deals with planning of investigation methods that can satisfy each suggested FFP criterion based on economic factors and the data quality. To this aim, a probabilistic loss function was applied to derive the cost effective investigation method that balances the measurement uncertainty, which estimates the degree of the data quality, with the decision quality. In addition, investigation planning methods when the objectives of investigations do not lie in the classification of the land but simply in producing the estimation of the mean concentration of the contaminant at the site(e.g. for the use in risk assessment), were also suggested. Furthermore, the efficient allocation of resources between sampling and analysis was also devised. These methods were applied to the two contaminated sites in the UK to test the validity of each method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.101-105
• /
• 2011

Determination of ultrasonic frequency and experimental design approach to optimization of ultrasonic soil-washing process for remediation of diesel contaminated soil were investigated. Ultrasonic frequencies of 35, 72, and 100 kHz were used for determination of optimal frequency. $MINITAB^{(R)}$ program was used for experimental design of optimal washing condition. The optimal ultrasonic frequency was 35 kHz. Even though the number of cavitation bubble is little, however cavitation bubbles involving larger energy compared with high frequency was generated. Therefore, the removal efficiency at low frequency was higher than at high frequency. However the input energy has to be considered when the process is applied. The statistical tests from a factorial experiment shows that the application of ultrasound and mechanical mixing are the most important factor for design of an ultrasonic soil washing process. The lab-scale experiments are required to get the optimal condition of ultrasound and mechanical mixing for application of ultrasonic soil washing process.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.408-412
• /
• 2003

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Influence of oil concentration and inoculum size on petroleum biodegradation in soil by Nocardia sp. H17-1, isolated from oil-contaminated soil. To investigate the effect of initial oil concentration on total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) degradation, the soil was artificially contaminated with 10, 50 or 100 g of Arabian light oil per kg of soil, respectively. After 50 days, Nocardia sp. H17-1 degraded 78,94 and 53% of the each initial TPH concentration, respectively. Also, it produced 1.35, 4.21, and 5.91 mmol of $CO_2$ per g of soil, respectively. The degradation rate constant (k) of TPH was decreased in proportion to the initial oil concentrations while $CO_2$ production was increased with the concentration. The growth of Nocardia sp. H17-1 was remarkably inhibited when it was inoculated into soil containing 100 g of oil per kg of soil. To evaluate the effect of the inoculum size, the soil was artificially contaminated with 50 g of Arabian light oil per kg of soil, and inoculated with $3${\times}$10^{6}$ , $5${\times}$10^{7}$ , $2${\times}$10^{8}$ cells per g of soil, respectively. After 50 days, the degradation of TPH was remained with similar in all treatment but degradation rate constant (k) and evolved $CO_2$ was increased with increasing the inoculum size.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.10-18
• /
• 2013

The pilot scale biopile system was designed and operated for evaluation of bioremediation efficiency for petroleum contaminated soil. The pilot scale biopile consisted of biopile dome, aeration system and monitoring system and two biopiles were operated with nutrients and inoculum for more 100 days. The test pile A and B were analyzed with regard to pH, total carbon contents, water contents, nutrients (N, P) and TPH. The initial TPH concentrations for pile A and pile B were about 10,000 mg/kg and 2,300 mg/kg, respectively. After 100 days, the TPH contents decreased about 70% in the pile A and 30% in the pile B. Also, n-$C_{17}$/pristane and n-$C_{18}$/phytane ratios in all pile were significantly changed. The microbial densities in the pile A was increased by approximately $10^7$ CFU/g-soil~$10^8$ CFU/g-soil, but there was almost no changed in the pile B. The average biodegradation rates were calculated about 66.8 mg/kg-day in the pile A and 10.9 mg/kg-day in the pile B. Over the course of operation period, pile temperature was considered the major limiting factor for the efficiency of all biopiles.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.27-34
• /
• 2003

In this study, potential degradation of MTBE and other gasoline oxygenates by pure culture ENV425 and mixed culture isolated from gasoline contaminated soil using butane as the sources of carbon and energy was examined and compared. Butane monooxygenases(BMO) of butane-grown ENV425 and mixed culture generated 1-butanol as a major metabolite of butane oxidation and addition of acetylene, specific inhibitor of monooxygenase, inhibited both butane oxidation and 1-butanol production. The results described in this study suggest that alkanes including propane, pentane, and butane are effectively utilized as a growth substrate to oxidize MTBE cometabolically. And also BTEX compounds could be the potential substrate of the MTBE cometabolism. Cell density also affected on the MTBE degradation and transformation capacity(Tc). Increasing cell density caused increasing MTBE degradation but decreased transformation capacity. Other result demonstrated that MTBE and other gasoline oxygenates, ETBE and TAME, were degraded by butane-grown microorganism.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
• /
• v.41 no.3
• /
• pp.201-207
• /
• 2005

A phenanthrene-degrading bacterium HS362, which is capable of using phenanthrene as a sole carbon and energy source, was isolated from oil contaminated soil. This strain is a gram negative, rod shaped organism that is most closely related to Sphingomonas paucimobilis based on biochemical tests, and belongs to the genus Sphingomonas based on fatty acids analysis. It exhibited more than $99.2{\%}$ nucleotide sequence similarity of 16S rDNA to that of Sphingomonas CF06. Thus, we named this strain as Sphingomonas sp. HS362. It degraded $98{\%}$ of phenanthrene after 10 days of incubation when phenanthrene was added at 500 ppm and $30{\%}$ even when phenanthrene was added at 3000 ppm. Sphingomonas sp. HS362 could also degrade low molecular weight PAHs(Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) such as indole and naphthalene, but was unable to degrade high molecular weight PAHs such as pyrene and fluoranthene. The optimum temperature and pH for phenanthrene degradation were $30^{\circ}C$ and $4{\~}8$, respectively. Sphingomonas sp. HS362 could degrade phenanthrene effectively in the concentration range of NaCl of up to $1{\%}$. Its phenanhrene degrading ability was enhanced by preculture, suggesting the possibility of induction of phenanthrene degrading enzymes. Starch and surfactants such as SDS, Tween 85, and Triton X-100 were also able to enhance phenanthrene degradation by Sphingomonas sp. HS362. It carries five plasmids and one of them, plasmid p4, is considered to be involved in the degradation of phenanthrene according to the plasmid curing experiment by growing at $42^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.45-52
• /
• 2003

A gas-substrate degrading bacterium, Nocardia SW3, was isolated from the gasoline contaminated aquifer using propane and butane as carbon and energy sources. We have examined the effects of substrate concentration, temperature and pH on the gas substrate degradation as well as MTBE cometabolic degradation. The result for the effect of substrate concentration showed that the maximum degradation rates of propane and butane were 30.6 and 25.4 (n㏖/min/mg protein) at 70 $\mu$㏖, respectively. The optimum temperature and pH for the degradation of gas substrate were $30^{\circ}C$ and 7, respectively. Substrate degradation activity, however, was still active in broad range of pH from 5 to 8 and temperature between $15^{\circ}C$and$35^{\circ}C$. The degradation activity of Nocardia SW3 for the MTBE was similar to the both substrates. The observed maximal transformation yields ($T_y$) were 46.7 and 35.0 (n㏖ MTBE degraded $\mu$㏖ substrate utilized), and the maximal transformation capacities ($T_c$) were 320 and 280 (n㏖MTBE degraded/mg biomass used) for propane and butane oxidizing activity on MTBE, respectively. And also, TBA was detected as by-product of MTBE and it was continuously degraded further.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.43 no.6
• /
• pp.555-564
• /
• 2010

Remediation process by using the bio-carrier (beads) with dead Bacillus sp. B1 and polysulfone was investigated for heavy metal contaminated groundwater. Sorption batch experiments using the bio-carrier were performed to quantify the heavy metal removal efficiencies from the contaminated solution. The analyses using SEM/EDS and TEM for the structure and the characteristic of precipitates on/inside the beads were also conducted to understand the sorption mechanism by the bio-carrier. Various amounts of freeze-dried dead Bacillus sp. B1 were mixed with polysulfone + DMF(N,N-dimethylformamide) solution to produce the bio-carrier (beads; less than 2mm in diameter) and 5% of Bacillus sp. B1 in the bio-carrier was optimal for Pb removal in the solution. The removal efficiency ratings of the bio-carrier for Pb, Cu and Cd were greater than 80% after adding 2g of bio-carrier in 50ml of aqueous solution (<10mg/L of each heavy metal concentration). Reaction time of the bio-carrier was very fast and most of the sorption reaction for heavy metals were completed within few hours. Batch experiments were duplicated at various pH conditions of aqueous solutions and Cu and Pb removal efficiencies highly maintained at wide pH ranges (pH 2-12), suggesting that the bio-carrier can be useful to clean up the acidic waste water such as AMD. From SEM/EDS and TEM analyses, it was observed that the bio-carrier was spherical shape and was overlapped by many porous layers. During the sorption experiment, Pb was crystallized on the surface of porous layers and also was mainly concentrated at the boundary of Bacillus sp. B1 stroma and polysulfone substrate, showing that the main mechanism of the bio-carrier to remove heavy metals is the sorption on/inside of the bio-carriers and the bio-carriers are excellent biosorbents for the removal of heavy metal ions from groundwater.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
• /
• v.6 no.3
• /
• pp.152-157
• /
• 1999

Oil leaked from underwound storage tanks and leachate from sanitary landfills have been known as contaminant sources of the high-quality groundwater resources. The mobility of contaminants in the aquifer largely depends on the groundwater flow and the determination of associated hydraulic parameters is essential for a proper remediation of contaminated grnundwater. This study aimed at determining an optimum set of hydraulic parameters for an unconfined sandy aquifer of a laboratory scale through comparison of various methods. Results showed that the specific yield obtained from gravity drainage experiment was an average of 0.20 with minor variations in aquifer depths. and the permeabilities obtained from Dupuit approximation and slug test gave similar values of 5.33 cm/min and 5.85 cm/min but the constant head method gave 0.17 cm/min, which is much ion than the other methods. This experimental evidence reveals that the permeability of the unconfined sandy aquifer could be accurately determined by Dupuit assumption or slug tut rather than by constant head method conducted for a disturbed separate soil column.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.407-419
• /
• 2022

Soil(vadose zone) gas compositions were measured for about 3 days to suggest a method for monitoring and interpreting soil gas data collected around wells from which methane(CH₄) is outflowing. The vadose zone gas samples were collected within 1 m around two test wells(TB2 and TB3) at Pohang and analyzed for CO₂, CH₄, N₂ and O₂ concentrations in situ. CO₂ flux was measured beside TB2. In addition, gas samples from well head in TB2 and atmospheric air samples were collected for comparison. Carbon isotopes of CO₂(δ¹³C_CO2) of samples collected on the last day of the study period were analyzed in the laboratory. The two test wells (TB2 and 3) were 12.7 m apart and only TB3 was cemented to the surface. According to the bio-geochemical process-based interpretation, the relationships between CO₂ and O₂, N₂, and N₂/O₂ of vadose zone gas were plotted between the lines of CH₄ oxidation and CO₂ dissolution. In addition, the CH₄ concentrations of gas samples from the wellhead of the uncemented well (TB2) were 5.2 times higher than the atmospheric CH₄ concentration. High CO₂ concentrations (average 1.148%) of vadose zone gas around TB2 seemed to be attributed to the oxidation of CH₄. On the other hand, the vadose zone CO₂ around the cemented well(TB3) showed a relatively low concentration(0.136%). This difference indicates that the vadose zone gas(including CO₂) around the CH₄ outflowing well were strongly affected by well completion(cementing). This study result can be used to establish strategies for environmental monitoring of soil around natural gas sites, and can be used to monitor leakage around injection and observation wells for CO₂ geological storage. In addition, the method of this study is useful for soil monitoring in natural gas storage and oil-contaminated sites.