| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/N25831/01 |
| Title: |
THE ENVIRONMENTAL FATE OF CHIRAL COMPOUNDS & THEIR USE AS INDICATORS OF IN SITU BIODEGRADATION |
| Principal Investigator: |
Williams, Professor GM |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Fluid Processes Group |
| Organisation: |
British Geological Survey |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
21 August 2000 |
Ends: |
20 May 2002 |
Value (£): |
60,804
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Assess/Remediate Contamination |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Many organic compounds are chiral, that is, they exist in left- or right-handed forms which have identical physical and chemical properties, but can behave completely differently in biological systems. If their environmental behaviour can be understood, then this difference may be utilised to assess their extent of biodegradation in aquifers and so provide evidence of natural attenuation (NA). A field site where the chiral herbicide mecoprop is polluting a major aquifer will be studied in a feasibility study to develop protocols for using enantiomeric ratios for assessing NA. This work will involve a series of in situ and laboratory microcosm experiments, focusing on the degradation and microbially mediated inversion of one form to the other which is an important stage in the degradation process. The results will help understand the dynamics of chiral inversion and biodegradation and will aid the development of a kinetic model to predict chiral ratios and concentrations in different redox zones in the aquifer. The work will also involve a review of chiral priority pollutants, and the assembly of data of relevance to their environmental fate. Potential field sites for future application of the protocols developed in this feasibility study will also be considered.EngProg\
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Key Findings |
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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