Anaerobic Biodegradation

Definitions

Anaerobic Biodegradation - "The degradation of compounds by microorganisms in the absence of oxygen." - National Research Council, 1994

Anaerobic Respiration - "The process whereby microorganisms use a chemical other than oxygen as an electron acceptor. Common 'substitutes' for oxygen are nitrate, sulfate, and iron." - National Research Council, 1993

Anaerobic Respiration - "In anaerobic respiration, nitrate (NO₃^-), sulfate (SO₄^2-), metals such as iron (Fe³⁺) and manganese (Mn⁴⁺), or even CO₂ can play the role of oxygen, accepting electrons from the degraded contaminant. Thus, anaerobic respiration uses inorganic chemicals as electron acceptors. In addition to new cell matter, the byproducts of anaerobic respiration may include nitrogen gas (N₂), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), reduced forms of metals, and methane (CH₄), depending on the electron acceptor." - National Research Council, 1993

Anaerobic Processes - “Anaerobic processes are used for treating wastewater with high concentrations of biodegradable organic materials, such as concentrated domestic wastewater, biosolids, animal manure slurry, and food processing wastes … The three biochemical reactions that characterize anaerobic processes are:
Hydrolysis- enzyme mediated transformation of complex organic compounds into simple compounds.
Acidogenesis- bacterial conversion of simple compounds into substrates for methanogenesis (acetate, formate, hydrogen, carbon dioxide).
Methanogenesis- bacterial conversion of methanogenic substrates into methane and carbon dioxide.” - Leverenz and others, 2002

Related Definitions

Anaerobic

Biodegradation

Aerobic

Aerobic Biodegradation

Electron Acceptor

Electron Donor

Methanogenesis

Anoxic

Biotransformation

Natural Attenuation

USGS Information on Biodegradation

• Crosscutting Topics, Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program
• Natural Attenuation
• Contaminant Plume Geochemistry and Microbiology
• Toxics Program Biodegradation Investigations
• Biodegradation of Emerging Contaminants
• Fate of Landfill Leachate, Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Oklahoma
• Sewage Contamination in Sand and Gravel Aquifers, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
• Processes that Control the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Microbial Degradation of Chloroethenes in Groundwater Systems
• Application of Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology to Understand the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Processes Affecting the Natural Attenuation of Fuels in Groundwater
• Crude Oil -- Bemidji, Minnesota
• Fuel Oxygenates -- Laurel Bay, South Carolina
• Gasoline -- Galloway Township, New Jersey [Completed]
• Produced Water -- Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Project, Oklahoma [Completed]
• Creosote Waste in Ground Water, Pensacola, Florida [Completed]
• Toxics Program Remediation Related Activities
• Biodegradation of Charcoal Production Wastes, Kingsford, Mich.
• Quantifying Subsurface Biodegredation, Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Okla.
• Can Trees Clean Up Ground Water? Phytoremediation of Trichloroethene-Contaminated Ground Water at Air Force Plant 4, Fort Worth, Tex.
• Natural Attenuation of Wood Preservatives in Ground Water, Pensacola, Fla.
• Natural Aquifer Restoration, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Mass.
• RDX Biodegradation Assessment, Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Wash.
• Oxygen-Release Compound Remediation Tests, Laurel Bay, S.C.
• Quantifying Natural Attenuation at the Plume Scale, Galloway Township, N.J. and Laurel Bay, S.C.
• USGS National Research Program Biodegradation Related Projects
• Biogeochemistry of Carbon and Nitrogen in Aquatic Environments
• Chemical Transformations in Water Reclamation and Reuse
• Microbial Biogeochemistry of Aquatic Environments
• Multiphase Contaminant Transport, Reaction and Biodegradation
• Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Environments: Understanding Fate in a Changing Biogeochemical Landscape
• Partitioning of Solutes between Solid and Aqueous Phases
• Subsurface Microbiology Research - Bacteria, Contaminant Interactions
• Bioremediation Activities, USGS Microbiology Research
• Geochemical and Microbial Evidence of Fuel Biodegradation in a Contaminated Karst Aquifer in Southern Kentucky, June 1999

Related Headlines

• Hormones Degrade in the Environment!
• Detergents in Streams May Just Disappear
• Hydrogen Measured in a New Test for Determining Subsurface Microbiological Activity at Contamination Sites
• New Report Presents a Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Monitored Natural Attenuation
• RDX Biodegradation Under Metal-Reducing Conditions
• New Information on the Long-Term Fate of Ammonium in Ground Water
• Microorganisms Degrade MTBE Even at Winter Ground-Water Temperatures
• Does NDMA Biodegrade at Ground-Water Recharge Facilities?
• Ground-Water Recharge Affects Fate of Petroleum Contaminant Plumes
• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation--A Review
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants -- Lessons Learned
• USGS Scientists Contribute to the Landmark "Treatise on Geochemistry"
• A Unique Approach to Evaluating Natural Attenuation is Applied Worldwide
• Landmark Book Published on the Fate of Contaminants in the Environment: Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems
• Using Oxygen to Clean Up Ground-Water Contamination
• MTBE Can Degrade Naturally Without Oxygen
• How Do You Clean Up Gasoline Spills Naturally?
• Relying on Nature to Clean Up Contaminated Ground Water
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation
• Can a Sewage-Contaminated Aquifer Naturally Clean Itself?
• Natural Attenuation of MTBE at Laurel Bay, South Carolina

Other Information on Biodegradation

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Natural Attenuation, CLU-IN, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
  • Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA), Office of Research and Development
  • Commonly Asked Questions Regarding the Use of Natural Attenuation for Petroleum Contaminated Sites at Federal Facilities
  • Commonly Asked Questions Regarding the Use of Natural Attenuation for Chlorinated Solvent Spills at Federal Facilities
• National Research Council Reports
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation
• In Situ Bioremediation: When Does it Work?
• Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup
• Environmental Inquiry - Biodegradation, Cornell University and Penn State University
• Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database, University of Minnesota

References

Leverenz, H., Tchobanoglous, G., and Darby, J.L., 2002, Review of technologies for the onsite treatment of wastewater in California: University of California Davis, Center for Environmental and Water Resources Engineering 02-2. 

National Research Council, 1993, In situ bioremediation--When does it work?: Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 224 p.

National Research Council, 1994, Alternatives for ground water cleanup: Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 315 p.

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