Diisopropanolamine biodegradation potential at sour gas plants

The potential for aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of a sour gas treatment chemical, diisopropanolamine (DIPA), was studied using contaminated aquifer materials from three sour gas treatment sites in western Canada. DIPA was found to be readily consumed under aerobic conditions at 8 degrees C and 28 degrees C in shake flask cultures incubated with aquifer material from each of the sites, and this removal was characterized by first-order kinetics. In addition, DIPA biodegradation was found to occur under nitrate-, Mn(IV)-, and Fe(III)-reducing conditions at 28 degrees C, and in some cases at 8 degrees C, in laboratory microcosms. DIPA loss corresponded to consumption of nitrate, and production of Mn(II) and Fe(II) in viable microcosms compared to corresponding sterile controls. A threshold DIPA concentration near 40 mg/L was observed in the anaerobic microcosms. This report provides the first evidence that DIPA is biodegraded under anaerobic conditions, and our data suggest that biodegradation may contribute to DIPA attenuation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in aquifers contaminated with this sour gas treatment chemical.