ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the tanker truck spill of styrene monomer and its ultimate removal by means of in situ bioreclamation. Styrene collected from two recovery wells was used for the bench-scale study. Site matrix ground water samples were taken from the vacuum recovery system periodically in an effort to monitor ongoing treatment. Soil core samples taken from the local area served as the host media for column testing. At the offset of the bench-scale program, serial dilutions of the recovered product, ranging in styrene concentration from 10 to 500 mg/L, were prepared and inoculated with bacteria to determine the effective concentration for biological treatment. A total of 12 vessels were prepared in an effort to evaluate the importance of nutrient inhibition, trace elements, inoculum dosage, toxicity, and abiotic control. Aerobic biodegradation of styrene is well documented in literature. Sielicki et al. demonstrated that two different mechanisms were responsible for the disappearance of styrene in enrichment cultures.
