N and S Isotope Fractionation in Nitrate and Sulphate Coupled to the Biodegradation of Benzene and Toluene
Date
2015-10-01
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Abstract
A set of groundwater samples was collected from a series of groundwater wells with
known contamination from BTEX compounds. From these groundwater samples native bacterial
cultures were enriched for the reduction of either nitrate or sulphate coupled to the oxidation of
benzene or toluene. A series of laboratory experiments were conducted with these enriched
bacterial cultures to assess the isotope effects on nitrogen and sulphur during denitrification and
bacterial sulphate reduction (BSR). N and S isotope fractionation in nitrate and sulphate was
observed during the experiments. N and S isotope enrichment factors (ε) were determined for
both benzene and toluene biodegradation. These unique ε values can be used in a field setting to
determine the predominant biodegradation reaction occurring in groundwater contaminated with
BTEX compounds.
Description
Keywords
Geochemistry
Citation
Jackson, C. J. (2015). N and S Isotope Fractionation in Nitrate and Sulphate Coupled to the Biodegradation of Benzene and Toluene (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27052