The in situ treatment of BTEX, MTBE, and TBA in saline groundwater
Authors: McGregor Rick , Vakili Fatemeh 
Published: September 2019

A pilot‐scale test was conducted in a saline aquifer to determine if a petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) plume containing benzene (B), toluene (T), ethylbenzene (E), xylenes (X), methyl tert‐butyl ether (MTBE), and tert‐butyl alcohol (TBA) could be treated effectively using a sequential treatment approach that employed in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) and enhanced bioremediation (EBR). Chemical oxidants, such as persulfate, have been shown to be effective in reducing dissolved concentrations of BTEX (B + T + E + X) and additives such as MTBE and TBA in a variety of geochemical environments including saline aquifers. However, the lifespan of the oxidants in saline environments tends to be short‐lived (i.e., hours to days) with their effectiveness being limited by poor delivery, inefficient consumption by nontargeted species, and back‐diffusion processes. Similarly, the addition of electron acceptors has also been shown to be effective at reducing BTEX and associated additives in saline groundwater through EBR, however EBR can be limited by various factors similar to ISCO. To minimize the limitations of both approaches, a pilot test was carried out in a saline unconfined PHC‐impacted aquifer to evaluate the performance of an engineered, combined remedy that employed both approaches in a sequence. The PHC plume had total BTEX, MTBE, and TBA concentrations of up to 4,584; 55,182; and 1,880 μg/L, respectively. The pilot test involved injecting 13,826 L of unactivated persulfate solution (19.4 weight percent (wt.%) sodium persulfate (Na2S2O8) solution into a series of injection wells installed within the PHC plume. Parameters monitored over a 700‐day period included BTEX, MTBE, TBA, sulfate, and sulfate isotope concentrations in the groundwater, and carbon and hydrogen isotopes in benzene and MTBE in the groundwater. The pilot test data indicated that the BTEX, MTBE, and TBA within the PHC plume were treated over time by both chemical oxidation and sulfate reduction. The injection of the unactivated persulfate resulted in short‐term decreases in the concentrations of the BTEX compounds, MTBE, and TBA. The mean total BTEX concentration from the three monitoring wells within the pilot‐test area decreased by up to 91%, whereas MTBE and TBA mean concentrations decreased by up to 39 and 58%, respectively, over the first 50 days postinjection in which detectable concentrations of persulfate remained in groundwater. Concentrations of the BTEX compounds, MTBE, and TBA rebounded at the Day 61 marker, which corresponded to no persulfate being detected in the groundwater. Subsequent monitoring of the groundwater revealed that the concentrations of BTEX continued to decrease with time suggesting that EBR was occurring within the plume. Between Days 51 and 487, BTEX concentrations decreased an additional 84% from the concentration measured on Day 61. Mean concentrations of MTBE showed a reduction during the EBR phase of remediation of 33% while the TBA concentration appeared to decrease initially but then increased as the sulfate concentration decreased as a result of MTBE degradation. Isotope analyses of dissolved sulfate (34S and 18O), and compound‐specific isotope analysis (CSIA) of benzene and MTBE (13C and 2H) supported the conclusions that ISCO and EBR processes were occurring at different stages and locations within the plume over time.