Biodegradation of Methanol and Tertiary Butyl Alcohol in Subsurface Systems

The purpose of this study was to determine if and at what rate gasoline based alcohols would be degraded in subsurface systems. Soils were obtained from three sites in the USA for microcosms studies. Methanol was found to degrade at all sites up to a concentration of 1000 mg/L such that contamination would be reduced to non-measurable levels in one year or less. Tertiary butyl alcohol (TBA) was more refractory but was biodegraded at all sites. For sites where anaerobic conditions prevailed, degradation rates varied directly with the TBA concentration. The data suggests that methanol contamination problems in groundwater should be minimal because of its susceptibility to biodegradation. TBA may be more persistent but should also degrade.