Universal Engineering Sciences, environmental consultants out of Orlando, Florida, used microbes to remediate ground water at a resort hotel in Winter Park, Florida. A leaking heating oil tank contaminated ground water with total recoverable hydrocarbons up to 300,000 parts per billon (ppb). The hydrocarbons found on the site included benzene, xylene, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene and other petroleum hydrocarbons.
A total of 110 gallons of microbes were injected in 12 small diameter injection points. Sampling conducted one month later showed all contaminants were reduced to Florida’s ground water cleanup target levels. The total recoverable petroleum hydrocarbons were reduced to 1,000 ppb.
David C. Beerbower, P.G., Vice President, Universal Engineering Sciences is "extremely pleased with the ability of Petrox to remediate this site in such a short period of time, thus allowing acquisition and redevelopment of the property to continue without delay."
Bioremediation also restored the ground water quality at an island resort in the Florida Keys. Hydrologic Associates U.S.A., Inc., environmental consultants out of Miami, Florida, implemented the remediation of ground water contaminated by leaking underground storage tanks. The one-acre ground water plume contained gasoline and heating oil constituents. The main contaminants were benzene (381 ppb), naphthalene (188 ppb), xylene (4,880 ppb), and MTBE (3650 ppb). The ground water was approximately two feet below ground surface in an organic-rich silty sand formation typical of mangrove areas.
Hydrologic Associates inoculated the ground water through shallow injection points placed less than 15 feet apart. The high density of injection points was used to maximize the distribution of the microbes in the ground water. The initial inoculation was 500 gallons of microbes.
Ground water samples after the first inoculation showed the contaminant concentrations were reduced by 95 percent or greater. The concentration decreased benzene to 9 ppb, naphthalene to 3 ppb, xylene to 14 ppb, and MTBE to 78 ppb.
Microbial bioremediation quickly and cost effectively treated soil and ground water at two sites in Florida to restore the environmental condition of a property and remove the environmental stigma. Full economic value of each property was recovered when the environmental stigma was removed.
Petrox is a patented consortium of non-pathogenic, naturally occurring bacterial strains specifically isolated for their exceptional capabilities of degrading a wide range of hydrocarbons.
Source: CL Solutions
