Anaerobic degradation of pristane in nitrate-reducing microcosms and enrichment cultures.

Microcosm studies were conducted under nitrate-reducing conditions with diesel fuel-contaminated aquifer material from a site treated by in situ bioremediation. In the microcosms, the consumption of nitrate and the production of inorganic carbon were strongly stimulated by the addition of the isoprenoid alkane pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane). Within 102 days enrichment cultures degraded more than 90% of the pristane supplied as coatings on reticulated sinter glass rings. The study demonstrates that pristane can no longer be regarded as recalcitrant under anaerobic conditions.