Aerobic

Aerobic means with oxygen. More specifically, it refers to occurring or living only in the presence of oxygen; therefore, the chemistry of the system, environment, or organism is characterized by oxidative conditions. Many organic contaminants are rapidly degraded under aerobic conditions by aerobic bacteria called aerobes. This process is known as aerobic biodegradation. Aerobes use oxygen as their electron acceptor.

More Information

• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation–A Review
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants – Lessons Learned
• Using Oxygen to Clean Up Ground-Water Contamination
• How Do You Clean Up Gasoline Spills Naturally?
• Relying on Nature to Cleanup Contaminated Ground Water
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments

References

• The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000: Houghton Mifflin Company, Fourth Edition.
• Chapelle, F.H., 2000, Ground-Water Microbiology and Geochemistry: New York, John Wiley and Sons, 468 p.
• EPA, Underground Storage Tanks Glossary of Technical Terms
• IUPAC, 1996, Glossary of Terms Relating to Pesticides: Pure Applied Chemistry, v. 68, no. 5, p. 1167-1193.

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