Demonstration of Bioaugmentation at Kelly AFB, TX

Bioaugmentation is an innovative technology designed to promote complete reductive dechlorination at sites where natural attenuation or enhanced anaerobic dechlorination cannot achieve the level of contaminant destruction to protect human health and the environment. Enhanced anaerobic bioremediation through the addition of electron donors and/or other nutrients is being demonstrated in the field at an increasing number of sites where the geochemical environment cannot support natural attenuation. While the technology has been able to achieve the anaerobic conditions necessary for halo respiration, the sites do not exhibit complete dechlorination, most commonly due to microbial limitations. Recently, bioaugmentation has been demonstrated successful for achieving complete dechlorination at Sites where delivery of donor/nutrient amendments resulted in limited success. One such site is the Building 360 Site at Kelly AFB, Texas where dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) was demonstrated to hold up at cis-dichloroethylene. The Environmental Security Technology Certification Program funded a study to test the robustness of the bioaugmentation technology. The objectives were to investigate the survivability of the KBI culture, evaluate any residual dechlorinating activity, attempt to reestablish the level of activity to pre-shutdown levels, and to Stress the culture by adding sulfate. Gene probe analysis on groundwater samples collected across the augmented test plot all tested positive for the presence KBI, none of the samples from the non-augmented control plot tested positive. Complete TCE dechlorination was observed in the vicinity of the test plot Suggesting that the KBI culture was utilizing a source of electron donor already in the groundwater although the level of dechlorination appeared to be lower than the level during donor addition.Air Force Research Lab Tyndall AFB FL Materials and Manufacturing Directorate is the author of 'Demonstration of Bioaugmentation at Kelly AFB, TX', published 2004 under ISBN 9781423519065 and ISBN 142351906X.