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Biodegradation of Sulfolane in Soil and Groundwater Samplesfrom a Sour Gas Plant Site
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1996
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EngineeringBiological Waste TreatmentWastewater TreatmentGroundwater RemediationChemical EngineeringEnvironmental ChemistryAbstract SulfolaneSoil PollutionBioremediationWater TreatmentEnvironmental MicrobiologySoil BioremediationSoil ContaminationEcotoxicologyEnvironmental FateWaste ManagementGroundwater SamplesfromEnvironmental EngineeringEnvironmental RemediationGas PlantSour GasMicrobiological Degradation
Abstract Sulfolane is used as a solvent in processes for the removal of H2S from sour gas. Because of its high water-solubility, soil contamination by sulfolane quickly leads to groundwater contamination. To assess the possibility of using bioremediation to remove this compound, samples of soils, groundwaters, and sandstone from a contaminated aquifer at a gas plant were used in laboratory studies to determine if they contained sulfolane-degrading microbial populations. Aerobic shake-flask slurry cultures were incubated at 26° and 8°C, and solid phase soil bioreactors, approximating bioventing, were incubated at 8°C to test sulfolane biodegradability. Each environmental sample yielded microbial populations that degraded sulfolane. Supplementation with N and P stimulated degradation. The most rapid rates of degradation in slurry cultures incubated at 26°C and 8°C were 8 and 4 mg L−1 d−1, respectively. In the soil column bioreactors supplemented with N and P, the rates of sulfolane biodegradation were between 0.5 and 0.7 mg kg−1 d−1. Keywords: BiodegradationGroundwaterSoilSour gasSulfolane