Application of Biobarriers for Groundwater Containment at Fractured Bedrock Sites

Ross, Nathalie; Bickerton, Greg

doi:10.1002/rem.10031

Cited by 17 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…The remediation of contamination in such environments is limited by several technical and financial considerations including the difficulty to reach contamination in micro-fractures and the cost of rock excavation (USEPA 1989). To control and limit groundwater movement in such geologic formations, the use of a biological barrier has been suggested (Ross and Bickerton 2002). Biological barriers consist of biofilms that develop after indigenous bacteria, or injected bacteria, have been stimulated to grow, have attached on rock or porous media surfaces, and have secreted exopolymeric substances (EPS) (Bryers 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development and resistance of a biofilm in a planar fracture during biostimulation, starvation, and varying flow conditions

Ross¹,

Novakowski²,

Lesage³

et al. 2007

Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science

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Investigations of biofilms in a planar fracture are required to develop a biobarrier concept in aquifers. A glass-fracture apparatus was designed to monitor a biofilm under three phases: biostimulation, starvation, and increased flow. Direct observations were performed using a light probe whereas indirect indications were obtained by enumerating planktonic bacteria, monitoring the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), and interpreting tracer experiments using an analytical model for two-dimensional advection-dispersion. Biofilm clusters developed along the flow lines before extending to a fully-connected biofilm, covering 500 cm 2 after 50 d. The starvation phase favoured bacterial attachment at first followed by detachment, which was accentuated by increases in groundwater velocity. The ORP declined over the three experimental phases and was significantly related to the distance from the biostimulation zone. The modeling suggested that an increase in transverse dispersion within the fracture only occurs during the biostimulation phase.Résumé : Les études sur les biofilms dans une fracture en plan sont requises pour développer un concept de barrières biologiques dans les aquifères. Un appareil en verre, imitant ce plan de fracture, a été conçu pour surveiller le biofilm sous trois phases : biostimulation, privation et écoulement accru. Des observations directes ont été réalisées en utilizant une sonde lumineuse alors que des observations indirectes ont été obtenues par l'énumération des bactéries planctoniques, la surveillance du potentiel d'oxydoréduction et l'interprétation d'expériences avec traceur au moyen d'un modèle analysant l'advection-diffusion en deux dimensions. Des grappes de biofilms se sont accumulées le long des lignes d'écoulement avant de se propager pour former un biofilm entièrement interconnecté, couvrant 500 cm 2 après 50 jours. La phase de privation favorisait la fixation des bactéries en premier, suivi d'un détachement qui a été accentué par l'augmentation de la vitesse de l'écoulement souterrain. Le potentiel d'oxydoréduction a diminué au cours des trois phases expérimentales et était grandement fonction de la distance de la zone de biostimulation. La modélisation a suggéré qu'une augmentation dans la diffusion transversale dans la fracture ne soit survenue que durant la phase de biostimulation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This site and the primary fracture planes have been well characterized (Lapcevic et al 1999a;Novakowski 1992;Novakowski and Lapcevic 1994;Novakowski et al 1995). The need, however, to investigate potential monitoring tools for this type of demonstration requires laboratory-scale studies (Ross and Bickerton 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and resistance of a biofilm in a planar fracture during biostimulation, starvation, and varying flow conditions

Ross¹,

Novakowski²,

Lesage³

et al. 2007

Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science

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“…Biofilms consist of structured communities of one or more strains of microorganisms, bound together by gel-like extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), secreted by the microorganisms (Ross and Bickerton, 2002). They are frequent in the subsurface, where enhanced growth between porous medium grains can lead to clogging of aquifer materials (Seifert and Engesgaard, 2012;Thullner et al, 2004;Yang et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of biofilms on the mobility of bare and capped zinc oxide nanoparticles in saturated sand and glass beads

Kurlanda-Witek¹,

Ngwenya

Butler

2015

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology

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Biofilms are a common constituent of the subsurface and are known to influence contaminant transport; however only a few studies to date have addressed microbial controls on nanoparticle mobility in porous media. The impact of a 3-day Pantoea agglomerans biofilm on the mobility of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles was studied in column experiments containing sand and glass beads at near-neutral pH and constant ionic strength. Bare ZnO nanoparticles (bZnO-NPs) and ZnO nanoparticles capped with tri-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (cZnO-NPs) were used in the experiments. Breakthrough curves demonstrate that the biofilm particularly slowed nanoparticle migration of bZnO-NPs in glass bead columns and cZnO-NPs in sand columns. With the exception of bZnO-NPs in sand columns, biofilm-coated porous media retained more nanoparticles than those of controls without biofilm. The biofilm may bear an impact on the surface charge of the porous medium, nullifying porous medium-specific effects. Although viable cell counts (VCCs) decreased after the introduction of electrolyte and before nanoparticle transport experiments, SEM and CLSM imaging of porous medium samples taken from columns after nanoparticle transport experiments, as well as total organic carbon (TOC) measurements reveal that biofilm was present in the columns throughout the experiments. Hence, it can be concluded that even a thin amount of biofilm can hinder nanoparticle migration in small-scale porous medium experiments. Moreover, nanoparticle mobility is dependent on the binding capacity of biofilms, rather than the type of porous media.

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“…Enhanced development of this biomass during bioremediation of BTEX can lead to "bioclogging" in an aquifer (Ross and Bickerton, 2002). As a result, significant reductions in permeability and hydraulic conductivity have been observed (Hiebert et al, 2001), and predicted through mathematical modeling (Clement et al, 1996;Holm, 2000;Kilsgaard and Engesgaard, 2001;McDonald et al, 1999;Vandevivere et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Field GPR monitoring of biostimulation in saturated porous media

McGlashan

Tsoflias

Schillig

et al. 2012

Journal of Applied Geophysics

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Application of Biobarriers for Groundwater Containment at Fractured Bedrock Sites

Abstract: Biological barriers are a beneficial application of biofilms that aim at reducing the hydraulic conductivity (K)

Cited by 17 publications

References 52 publications

Development and resistance of a biofilm in a planar fracture during biostimulation, starvation, and varying flow conditions

Development and resistance of a biofilm in a planar fracture during biostimulation, starvation, and varying flow conditions

The influence of biofilms on the mobility of bare and capped zinc oxide nanoparticles in saturated sand and glass beads

Field GPR monitoring of biostimulation in saturated porous media

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