In Situ Reduction of Uranium and Technetium
We are currently
conducting laboratory and field research at the DOE’s NABIR Field Research
Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In this project, which was
initiated in October 2000, we are testing the hypothesis that indigenous
microorganisms with the capability to reduce U and 99Tc are present at the
site and that their activity can be stimulated by the addition of exogenous
electron donors. We have conducted an extensive series of field push-pull
tests in six wells to determine the effect of electron donor additions on
concentrations of nitrate, U, and 99Tc. Injected test solutions consisted
of amending 200 L of site groundwater that contained 2000 mg/L NO3-, 1.4
mg/L U, and 31,000 pCi/L 99Tc with Br- tracer, sodium bicarbonate, and selected
electron donors (acetate, ethanol, and glucose). Injected test solutions
in control wells were identical except that no exogenous electron donors
were added. In the first series of tests (first exposure of indigenous
microorganisms to exogenous electron donor), the addition of electron donor
stimulated denitrifying activity and resulted in the complete utilization
of injected donor ~ 500 hours (Fig. 1). Peak NO2- concentrations reached
~ 300 mg/L within ~ 250 hours following injection and then declined to zero.
No NO2- production was observed in the absence of added electron donor.
However, in our first series of field tests we were unable to stimulate U
or 99Tc reduction, which we attribute to low microbial activity or biomass
and electron donor limitations. During a push-pull test, electron donor
concentrations decrease due to (1) dilution of the injected test solution
by regional groundwater flow and (2) microbial utilization. Thus, it
is necessary to devise an electron donor addition strategy that achieves
sufficiently high donor concentrations in the immediate vicinity of the test
well for a sufficient amount of time to remove all injected NO3- so that
U and 99Tc reduction may proceed. The required time can be reduced
by pre-stimulating microbial activity before additions of U and 99Tc.
To test this hypothesis we conducted a series of electron donor additions
into our test wells over an approximately 9-week period to develop an active
denitrifying microbial population. From this second series of tests
(in progress) we have obtained clear evidence that the addition of glucose,
ethanol, or acetate stimulated denitrification and 99Tc reduction (U results
are not yet available), which we believe to represent the first in situ stimulation
of 99Tc reduction in the subsurface (Fig. 2). Although peak NO2- concentrations
were smaller in these tests, rates of NO3- removal were increased and technetium
concentrations are decreasing relative to the Br tracer.
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