Engineering and hydrogeological problems associated with in situ treatment

Abstract

Some organic molecules are naturally refractory to biodegradation, or other environmental factors induce molecular recalcitrance. Examples of recalcitrant groundwater contaminants are soluble components of petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Organic recalcitrance may be changed through introduction of degrading populations of microorganisms or by changing the environmental conditions through introduction of nutrients or other chemicals. The most significant engineering deficiency in in situ bioremediation is the absence of proven methods to introduce such materials into the subsurface environment for efficient mixing with microorganisms and the contaminants of concern. -from Authors