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BIOREMEDIATION OVERVIEW AND WORKPLAN ALTERNATIVES <br /> Years of research and thousands of applications around the <br /> world by government and industry have confirmed that <br /> common , non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi are capable of <br /> the thorough aerobic degradation (mineralization) of many <br /> anthropogenic compounds- including fuel hydrocarbons , <br /> solvents , and some pesticides As aerobic degradation ends <br /> in the formation of carbon dioxide , minerals , and water , <br /> complete destruction of contaminants may be achieved. In <br /> addition , biological detoxification processes have proven <br /> to be cost effective- frequently affording savings of 30% , <br /> or more, when compared to other treatment and disposal <br /> methods <br /> The science upon which biological detoxification is based <br /> is itself found upon knowledge of the chemical and physical <br /> changes that occur in compounds (most often petroleum and <br /> petroleum products) which have entered the environment as <br /> pollutants <br /> While changes in the composition of polluting hydrocarbon <br /> mixtures are both chemically and biologically induced, <br /> biological (microbial ) degradation plays a mayor role in <br /> this process (known as weathering) Although the complete <br /> breakdown of hydrocarbon materials into carbon dioxide, <br /> water , and minerals is theoretically possible under <br /> virtually all circumstances , petroleum hydrocarbons are <br /> very complex mixtures containing large number of alicyclic , <br /> aromatic , and other compounds . Gasoline , for instance, may <br /> contain 200 such compounds and crude oil many thousands <br /> As each of these compounds possess distinct physical and <br /> chemical characteristics , they differ in their capacity to <br /> serve as microbial substrates ( i a be utilized by <br /> microorganisms as sources of carbon and energy) within a <br /> given environment In addition, the physical state of the <br /> pollutants , environmental temperature, availability of <br /> oxygen and nutrients (particularly nitrogen, phosphorus , <br /> potassium, and/or iron) significantly impact the rate of <br /> pollutant degradation <br /> Clearly , the fate of fuel hydrocarbon contaminants within a <br /> given habitat will depend on the set of abiotic parameters <br /> particular to that habitat , with the interactions of <br /> multiple factors determining the overall rate of degra- <br /> dation Factors such as favorable oxygen concentrations <br /> and a large surface area for microbial -contaminant <br /> I. <br />