BIOREMEDIATION: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
“Bioremediation is a treatability technology which uses biological activity to reduce the concentration and / or toxicity of a pollutant. Bioremediation commonly uses processes by which microorganisms transform and/or degrade chemicals in the environment.” (NETAC Bioremediation Panel, 1991).

The goal of our bioremediation system is to speed up the natural microbial degradation process. The bioremediation process is simply accomplishing the same and result that would occur in the environment naturally over a long period of time, we are only facilitating the process. The microorganisms change the contaminated material to carbon dioxide, water and inert mass.

BENEFITS
The benefits of bioremediation are:

Effectiveness
Bioremediation does not transfer pollution from one phase or part of the environment to another. Instead the contaminant is transformed into non-objectionable forms of organic manner.

Expense
The cost is, in most cases, lower than mechanical, chemical or excavation methods.

Simplicity
Often, the application of bioremediation requires little specialized expensive equipment. It is a non-labor intensive remediation technology. It usually does not require the tearing up of concrete or asphalt, the removal of buildings, the interruption of business nor the closing down of a business operation.

Bioremediation may be used in conjunction with other methods of remediation, or as a stand alone technology. There are many factors that must be monitored and analyzed prior to and during the bioremediation process. These controls on growth include Carbon Source (which acts as a food source for the microbes), Inorganic Nutrients, Oxygen, of Water, Minimum Bacterial Population, and Toxins and Inhibitors. Louisiana Bio-Environmental will periodically monitor these factors in order to attain maximum bioremedial activity at the site.

ON-SITE BIOREMDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SOILS
Soils contaminated with oil can be treated on-site through Biotek Environmental’s bioremediation process. All too often, oil contaminated soils have to be physically removed to land fills or incinerated. In cases requiring physical removal of the oil-soil mixtures, bolatile materials may be released to the air. Our process is accomplished on-site with a minimization of disturbance of the oil-soil mixture. The time of response is related to the amount and type of oil, temperature, and in some areas by the soil properties.

In situations where the possible escape of volatile hydrocarbons into the air poses a concern, our process can be applied by spraying a water mixture of active hydrocarbon degrading bacteria, inorganic nutrients, and our liquid catalyst. This spray application accompanies the mechanical tilling of the surface of the soil thereby reducing the release upward to the air of volatile materials.

The tilling of the soil surface will distribute the bacteria into the oily soil itself, facilitation bacterial growth and decomposition. The concentration of our microorganisms can be matched to the concentration of the pollutant(s) in the soil. Most hydrocarbon decomposition is directly related to the number of bacteria available to degrade the material. Under normal favorable conditions, our bacteria will double every 15 to 20 minutes until they reach a population of several billion per gram. After which time, the numbers will level off and eventually decline as the hydrocarbon “food source” is reduced through this microbial decomposition.

This bioremediation process will convert hydrocarbons to fatty acids, carbon dioxide and water. As the oils are degraded, the soil will be converted into activated soil that can be used for normal agricultural use in most areas.

For deep levels of contamination, Louisiana Bio-Environmental will incorporate the use of our bioreactor, The Waste Buster, and utilize a pump and treat methodology to remove the contamination from the soil.