Pedro Alvarez Pedro Alvarez Petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents are priority pollutants that may constitute a significant cancer risk to humans and an unacceptable burden on the environment. Our research program focuses on the bioremediation of aquifers and soils contaminated with such organic compounds, emphasizing process optimization through engineered control of the environment.
Preliminary results are encouraging.
Addition of environmentally benign aromatic substrates to aquifer microcosms was effective in exerting selective pressure for desirable phenotypes and in stimulating biodegradation of monoaromatic hydrocarbons. This approach may help overcome limitations to successful bioremediation associated with the presence and expression of appropriate microbial catabolic capacities. A new and efficient method to rapidly transform toxic, chlorinated organics in soil, air, or groundwater into innocuous compounds is being developed. This chemical process is based on reductive dechlorination and reductive hydrolysis using zero-valent iron as the reductant. The micro-ecological implications of stimulated denitrifying conditions also are being investigated.