SiREM employees working with bioaugmentation cultures

Bioaugmentation Cultures for Benzene, Toluene, and o-Xylene

DGG Plus is a bioaugmentation culture used to degrade benzene, toluene, and xylene to methane and carbon dioxide in environments without oxygen.

DGG Plus is a custom-blended bioaugmentation culture used to degrade benzene (DGG-B), toluene (DGG-T), and xylene (DGG-X) to methane and carbon dioxide in environments without oxygen.

Benefits of DGG Plus

  • DGG Plus is a natural microbial culture, not genetically modified or engineered.
  • Bioremediation with DGG Plus is a simple and low-cost method.

  • Our cultures are free of known human pathogens.

  • Each shipment undergoes rigorous quality control, is of the highest quality and efficacy, and is free of volatile organic compounds.

  • Priority shipping in stainless-steel vessels.

If your site is naturally anaerobic, DGG Plus could be the best remedial strategy, since the culture thrives in anaerobic environments. Consider a Biotreatability Study to test bioaugmentation using DGG Plus with your site materials.

Because DGG Plus uses petroleum hydrocarbons as the electron donors, biostimulation is not usually necessary. The culture uses electron acceptors, like sulfate or carbon dioxide, which are often present naturally in the subsurface and do not typically need to be added.

DGG Plus FAQ

Yes. Before using DGG Plus at your site, we recommend conducting Gene-Trac® Testing on the groundwater first. These are molecular genetic tests to determine if contaminant degrading bacteria are present or absent at the test location.

For more information on molecular genetic tests related to BTEX degradation see Gene-Trac® Testing or contact SiREM for the specific tests applicable to your application.

Mixed recalcitrant chemical sites are complex. SiREM has a suite of bioaugmentation cultures that can address a wide range of recalcitrant chemicals, including:

KB-1® and KB-1® Plus cultures for chlorinated compounds such as PCE, TCE, 1,1,1-TCA and chloroform in anaerobic environments.
DXO-88 for 1,4-dioxane in aerobic environments.

We also offer Treatability testing services for complex sites to test and optimize your remedial strategy.

At SiREM, we are always developing new cultures to remediate contaminants of concern. If your site has a contaminant that we do not have listed, please contact us.

DGG Plus is an anaerobic bioaugmentation culture; this means it thrives only in environments without oxygen. At some sites the groundwater will already be anaerobic and DGG Plus can be injected directly into the groundwater. In cases where the groundwater is aerobic, preparing the groundwater to make it anaerobic using KB-1® Primer is recommended. Anaerobic water protects anaerobic bioaugmentation cultures during injection into aquifers.

KB-1® Primer was initially designed for SiREM’s KB-1® culture, but it should be used when injecting DGG Plus cultures as well.

The KB-1® Primer prepares anaerobic water to help disperse the cultures and protect them during injection. This process, which takes hours rather than weeks, allows bioaugmentation to happen at one field event, rather than requiring several events on separate days.

Learn how KB-1® Primer helps prepare groundwater to receive bioaugmentation cultures.

SiREM’s specialized performance monitoring tests are used in conjunction with routine analytical tests (e.g., chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) and field parameters (e.g., pH, DO and ORP)), and increase your ability to verify remediation success, optimize performance, and detect upset conditions.

SiREM’s specialized performance monitoring services for bioremediation include:

  • Gene-Trac® Testing to monitor baseline, growth, and spread of introduced beneficial microbes. Two FREE Gene-Trac® tests are included with all bioremediation purchases to verify that the bioaugmentation injection was successful and check for the growth of the DGG Plus culture in site groundwater.
  • Analytical Testing to monitor volatile fatty acids (VFAs), perform compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA), and quantify dissolved hydrocarbon gases.

Please contact us if you have questions about how performance monitoring supports successful bioremediation.

Let’s Get Your Bioaugmentation Project Started!

We help you select the best cultures to use for a specific contaminant and site. We provide support as you inject them at your site, and we help you monitor progress after bioaugmentation.

Documentation

DGG Plus Cut Sheet

DGG Plus SDS Information

Gene-Trac® Testing

Performance Monitoring

DGG Plus Case Study

Bioaugmentation equipment