Application of the model to the aquifer sediments of ORFRC
Area 2 illustrates how physiology-based modeling, combined
with laboratory experimentation, can reveal metabolic pathways that are significant in subsurface sediments. According to
the best-fit modeling results , only
five catabolic reactions were significant in metabolizing ethanol
in the sediment slurry experiment. Hence, to simulate fieldscale ethanol metabolism in the aquifer at ORFRC Area 2, it may
not be necessary to consider all catabolic reactions that potentially participate in ethanol metabolism. Instead, simulation
time may be minimized, and datafitting simplified, by focusing
(at least initially) on the active catabolic reactions identified in
this study. This path toward field-scale reactive transport
simulation offers the potential to integrate microbial physiology
into the prediction of the long-term impact of in situ
biostimulation strategies and can be applied to simulatein situ
bioremediation with ethanol, acetate, or hydrogen-release
compoundas as the electron donors.