Degradation of fuel components

In the environment, soil and groundwater contamination often occurs due to anthropogenic activity. Accidental spills, leaking storage tanks or waste disposal have polluted the environment with inorganic and organic compounds, the latter including aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. These chemicals pose a risk to the health of the environment, animals and humans. Therefore remediation technologies are needed to clean up contaminated locations. Bioremediation is considered cost effective, sustainable and can accelerate the natural biodegradation of organic pollution. This thesis describes the biodegradation of fuel components, including methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE), ethyl tert-butyl ether (EtBE), tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and benzene. This thesis provides insight in the ecology and physiology of microorganisms important in the degradation of MtBE, EtBE, TBA and benzene, setting the scene for the development and implementation of innovative microbial remediation strategies.