Biological Methods Petroleum Hydrocarbons Cleanup

Cleanup of the ground water and soils from hydrocarbon spills has mainly focused on air stripping and activated carbon for ground-water treatment, and vapor extraction and excavation followed by aeration or incineration for soils. Biological treatment is an alternative treatment method. This paper discusses some biological technologies used to treat contaminated ground water and the air stream from vapor extraction systems. Through case history discussions, the paper shows that use of an above-ground 'decay' submerged fixed-film biological reactors can be used to treat low levels (