Engineering the Immobilization of Couplable Organics in Soils and the Subsurface

Phenolic contaminants can become irreversibly bound to organic matrices in soils and sediments. The bound chemicals have been shown to possess attenuated environmental mobilities and reduced bioavailabilities. The purpose of this ongoing study is to a) evaluate the factors affecting binding of phenols to natural soils, sediments and aquifer material, and b) utilize this information to develop innovative engineering applications of oxidative coupling for the remediation of contaminated soils and subsurface materials. Phenol, o-cresol, and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol are being studied as target contaminants and their binding is being investigated on a shale and two near-surface soils. Model system studies are being conducted concurrently to evaluate the effects of pH and enzyme concentration on polymerization of aqueous phenols. Finally, knowledge gained from the natural and model experimental systems is being utilized to develop preliminary engineered approaches such as permeable reactive barriers designed to intercept contaminant plumes in the subsurface and transform the migrating contaminant into soil-bound residues.