Biofilm Restoration for Contaminated Army Sites

Many Unites States Army, and other Department of Defense (DoD) sites, are contaminated with a variety of contaminants including highly energetic compounds, such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX), chlorinated aliphatics (such as trichloroethylene,TCE) and chlorinated aromatics. These compounds often persist in soil or groundwater for extended periods of time and present a toxicological risk to humans and the environment. During our Phase I research three microbial strains, known to degrade nitroaromatics and other environmental contaminants, were tested for their ability to degrade TNT in pure culture biofilms and as members of a complex biofilm community derived from a TNT contaminated soil. The ability of the pure cultures to form biofilms alone and as part of an undefined, mixed, consortium was compared to the TNT degradation ability of the soil biofilm consortium alone. While Phase I research was focused on the model contaminant TNT, Phase II investigations will be extended to other DoD contaminants of concern and will be performed at increasingly larger scale, including column experiments and and meso-scale reactors with contaminated soils from DoD sites.