Combined laboratory/field study on the use of nitrate for in situ bioremediation of a fuel-contaminated aquifer

The use of nitrate in the bioremediation of fuel-contaminated groundwater was shown to offer only moderate improvement in contaminant reduction. Core material removed from the nitrate treated and control areas showed varying degrees of alkylbenzene removal governed by the denitrifying and iron-reducing characteristics of the soil column above the aquifer. The reductions in the aquifer's contaminants were shown to be a function of anaerobic bioremediation rather than a direct effect of nitrification.