Laboratory and numerical simulations of three-dimensional microbial transport and biodegradation

A three-dimensional column experiment was created to provide insight into the bioaugmentation of carbon tetrachloride by Pseudomonas stutzeri KC. The goals of this experiment were to increase our understanding of the transport of Pseudomonas stutzeri KC and to collect high-resolution datasets to conduct a case study using a numerical model developed by the Departments of Geological Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University that accounts for the three-dimensional microbial transport and biodegradation specific to the Schoolcraft Plume A project. The laboratory model results exhibit effective transport of the mobile phase microbe and degradation of CT; however, the results indicate a lag between the transport of mobile Pseudomonas stutzeri KC and a conservative tracer, which was not produced in the numerical simulation. The simulated CT degradation exhibited a higher degree of mass removal than what was observed, though detailed qualitative comparisons could not be made.