Nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) are still a major challenge for all traditional groundwater treatment technologies. NAPLs often contaminate the subsurface following an accidental spill or due to a defect in the oil storage tank. These pollutants remain trapped in the form of droplets and / or immiscible clusters within the aquifer, thus constituting a persistent source of pollution that is...
Geophysical monitoring of bacterial activities in subsurface has drawn significant interest in various civil engineering, hydrocarbon recovery, soil remediation practices. This study explored the feasibility of use of complex electrical responses to monitor bacterial biofilm formation in soils. Two runs of column experiments were conducted, in which the model bacteria Shewanella oneidensis...
The injection of substrates, e.g. hydrogen with the purpose of energy storage, into subsurface structures could stimulate the growth of all present microbial species which are able to use this substrate for their metabolism. The linkage between transport, the growth of microorganisms, substrate availability and biodegradation results in a strongly coupled dynamic system. The difficulty in the...
Life in porous media, as soil bacteria, are used since more than 40 years ago as bio-fertilizer contributing to the development of a sustainable agronomy. Even though they are extensively used due to their low cost, such biotechnology is still far from being efficient and many challenges are opened for basic research in porous media science.
Our microbiological system of study are the...
Shakil A. Masuma*, Hywel R. Thomas
Geoenvironmental Research Centre, School of Engineering, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
*masumsa1@cardiff.ac.uk (corresponding author’s E-mail)
Sequestration of anthropogenic carbon dioxide in deep geological formations, such as, saline aquifers, un-mineable coal seams is a plausible way to reduce global greenhouse gas effects. Safety and...
With the increasing demands for sustainable and eco-friendly soil improvement methods, utilization of microbial activities in subsurface has received increasing attention as an way to modify and control the mechanical and hydraulic properties of soils. Many bacteria can produce biofilms, which are matrices of organic materials consisting of microbial cells and extracellular polymeric...
One of the most economical and viable methods of soil improvement is dynamic compaction. However, dynamic compaction can only be applied on deposits where the degree of saturation is low and the permeability of the soil mass is high to allow for good drainage. The technique does not work very well on soils having a large content of fines. Also dynamic compaction produces lateral ground...
Urbanization in coastal areas can be a significant source of pathogenic microorganisms, such as viruses and fecal indicator bacteria. Recently, coastal water contamination is becoming an important issue due to global warming [1]. Viruses can migrate long distances though porous media, such as beaches and coarse sediments, because of their biological characteristics, i.e., their size and...
