Calorimetric study of the bioremediation of a polluted soil

The calorimetric cells of a Setaram BT 2.15 flux calorimeter have been modi fied, in order to measure the heat production associated with microbial gro wth, with a continuous flow of gas and liquid through the sample. Good cond itions for the growth of the microorganisms present in a polluted soil were determined and the possibility of the bioremediation examined. It was show n that the biodegradation of hydrocarbons adsorbed for a long time in the s oil is a very slow process difficult to study with calorimetry. On the cont rary, sodium succinate and different C-14 hydrocarbons were easily biodegra dated, producing a large quantity of heat.