Practical applications of respirometry in the bioremediation treatability laboratory

Presented are four illustrations on the practical applications of the respirometer in the bioremediation treatability laboratory. The use of the respirometer in preliminary site assessment studies has provided a cost-effective tool for assessing bioremediation's potential for site remediation. The illustrations presented are the following: (1) alternatives for treatment of PCBs, (2) estimation of end-point for treatment of PHCs in soil, (3) parameters for treatment of ethylene glycol in groundwater, and (4) acclimation to DCM as determined by chloride release. With the production of newly designed treatment vessels, use of the respirometer has expanded into quantifying DOUR as a monitoring tool for biological slurry-phase treatment of contaminants and into quantifying oxygen uptake for evaluating the potential of solid-phase (or land) treatment for site remediation.