Biodegradation of sulfolane in soil and groundwater samples from a sour gas plant site

Sulfolane is used as a solvent in processes for the removal of H2S from sour gas. Because of its high water-solubility, soil contamination by sulfolane quickly leads to groundwater contamination. To assess the possibility of using bioremediation to remove this compound, samples of soils, groundwaters, and sandstone from a contaminated aquifer at a gas plant were used in laboratory studies to determine if they contained sulfolane-degrading microbial populations. Aerobic shake-flask slurry cultures were incubated at 26 degrees and 8 degrees C, and solid phase soil bioreactors, approximating bioventing, were incubated at 8 degrees C to lest sulfolane biodegradability. Each environmental sample yielded microbial populations that degraded sulfolane. Supplementation with N and P stimulated degradation. The most rapid rates of degradation in slurry cultures incubated at 26 degrees C and 8 degrees C were 8 and 4 mg L(-1) d(-1), respectively. In the soil column bioreactors supplemented with N and P, the rates of sulfolane biodegradation were between 0.5 and 0.7 mg kg(-1) d(-1).