What they say about inipol EAP 22 and Bioremediationhttp://organiclifestyles.tamu.edu/soilbasics/soilbiological.html ... We have touched on the remarkable metabolic diversity and capacity of the soil microflora. This capacity is increasingly being harnessed and put to good use by humans. A most beneficial spin-off from our understanding of the metabolism of soil microbes has been the development of methods for the bioremediation of soils contaminated by hazardous wastes or spilled petroleum products both on land and sea. Bioremediation may be defined as the controlled use of microorganisms for the destruction of chemical pollutants. A large number of processes have been developed to handle various wastes and for the cleanup of spilled organic materials. At the heart of all of these processes lies the premise that the metabolic activities of bacteria or fungi can be used to degrade many of the organic chemicals of commerce (solvents, pesticides, hydrocarbon fuels, etc.). Either of two forms of bioremediation is commonly employed. In biostimulation the environment into which the material has been spilled or otherwise introduced is made favorable for the rapid development of microbes. Typically, this process involves adding sufficient nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer to overcome nutrient limitations to microbial growth and providing some mechanism for increased aeration of the system. These practices encourage development of the indigenous microbial population which usually contains microbes able to degrade the compounds of interest. In the practice of bioaugmentation, an external microbial population is added in order to speed up the degradation process. Numerous microbes have been developed for such purposes. However, the full measure of the usefulness of such microbial products is not yet known. Some inoculants have reportedly enhanced the remediation process and others have had little or no effect on the process. It is probable that in due time useful microbial products or processes will be developed for use in the clean-up of oil or other chemical spills. What is certain is that successful bioremediation will require detailed knowledge of the factors which make some microbes more competitive than others in a given environment. Only when these details are established will we know how to use sound ecological principles to add microbes to these complex environments to insure their establishment and function in the clean-up process. In March 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil tanker hit a reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska (USA) and released over 40 million liters of crude oil into the Sound within a 5-hour period. Over 1500 km (932 miles) of shoreline in the Sound and the Gulf of Alaska were contaminated to varying degrees by crude oil. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a historic event because of the magnitude of the spill, the vastness and isolation of the area to be treated, and the large number of personnel and vehicles ultimately involved. The success of bioremediation, particularly in a climate as cold as Alaska’s, prompted regulatory agencies in the United States to view bioremediation much more favorably over previous strategies of physical or chemical “entombment” (storage in cement tombs). Because oil is inherently high in carbon and low in nitrogen and phosphorus, a portion of the shoreline was selected for biostimulation. After several potential fertilizer candidates were evaluated, a microemulsion, Inipol EAP22™ (henceforth, Inipol), was selected. Inipol (an “oleophilic” fertilizer) is a stable water-in-oil formulation that yields an N-P-K ratio of 7.3:0.8:0. The nitrogen source is urea and the phosphorus source is trilaureth (4)-phosphate. At room temperature, Inipol has the consistency and appearance of honey, and it must be heated to 90oC (194oF) before it can be sprayed on the soil. Inipol was applied as a thin coat to the shore at a rate of 306 ml m-2 (0.27 quart per square yard). As the microemulsion mixed with the weathered crude oil, the crude oil destabilized Inipol to release its urea-N. In addition, a surface-active organic material (oleic acid) in Inipol served as a readily degradable carbon and energy source to increase the activity and number of indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. When the oleic acid was depleted, the increased biomass of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria supported enhanced biodegradation of the petroleum. Visual observations and chemical assays showed dramatic evidence that biostimulation contributed to the remediation of the site. Although passive bioremediation also undoubtedly occurred in the absence of the fertilizer nitrogen and phosphorus, the accelerated rate of biodegradation observed with Inipol was critical to a successful bioremediation effort. Used with permission 9-4-02 article by Frank Hons, Murray Milford, and David
Zuberer * _________________________________________ Comments one Para professional... "Use of inipol EAP 22 sped up process by 3-4 days from the abstract information I have been able to read" __________________________________________ Note: There is no mention of the 4th ingredient of inipol EAP 22 * Do you think dry cleaning solvent might have "polished the rocks & fooled the scientific community?" Of course, EPA only shares that inipol EAP 22 contains nitrogen and phosphorus * (when Oleic Acid is the primary ingredient) ___________________________________________ A lead supervisor comments that the inipol was not properly heated * and was applied too thick (For initial time period only? ... or the whole time?) *
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