Nature is able to clean up after itself, but it takes time. It’s a slow, natural healing process---nature’s own pollution control. The problem is that mankind now puts far more hydrocarbon pollution into the environment than nature can remove in the amount of time that man wants to allow . Science has devised ways of speeding nature up. By adding certain materials to a contaminated environment we can speed up the rate of natural degradation. If the proper microbes are not present, the remediation will be delayed. Microbes, adapt, over lengthy periods of time, to be able to use whatever the most prominent energy source is.

This speeding up of the natural degradation process, generally referred to as bioremediation, is splintered into different factions and techniques, depending upon what "materials" are added to the site. It’s true that in general microbes are ubiquitous, however, only a small percentage of the indigenous microbes may have the ability to create hydrocarbon degrading enzymes. This usually comes down to an issue of BioStimulation versus BioAugmentation.

Using BioAugmentation, instead, the site is inoculated with a proven and already tested, highly concentrated consortia of hydrocarbon degrading microbes. The only lab test required is a simple, quick, and inexpensive biocompatibility test to determine if there are any substances present that would be toxic to the microbes, thus preventing them from doing their job. Once the site is inoculated, the microbes quickly adapt to their new environment and begin the break down of the pollutant. The speed with which this occurs is relative to the density of the needed microbe population.

In the case of The Oppenheimer Formula, that amounts to well over 100,000,000,000 microbes per gram of product and since growth of the microbes is exponential, the pollutant is quickly and efficiently degraded, resulting in a faster closure of the site. This means that heavy equipment, if needed at all, is on site for a shorter period of time. Labor is needed for a shorter period of time. All of this translates into money saved and equipment and labor that, rather than being tied up on job 1, are ready to begin job 2. In both cost and time, the savings are considerable.

Over the years, studies have been published (some by prestigious universities) that purport that, across the board, there is no difference between BioStimulation and BioAugmentation. They indicate that, all things being equal, the results achieved are the same. The problem with these studies is that, as any working engineer or field personnel will tell you, all things are seldom, if ever, equal. Read these studies carefully. Was the soil being used representative of average soils or was it chosen specifically from a site known to have a very high indigenous population of just the right microbes for the task? Were the inoculation levels of the exogenous microbes kept artificially low to allow unfair advantage to the indigenous microbial population being studied? If the study purports to compare various products, was each product applied meticulously following the individual manufacturer’s specific instructions, including the application of manufacturer specified nutrients packages and biocatalysts?

BioAugmentation is the quickest and best way to clean up petroleum contaminated sites. BioStimulation may also clean up a site, but at a greater cost and much more time. There are a great number of things in this world that might work for a given job. But when your reputation, money, and time are on the line, don’t you want the very best tool for the job? BioAugmentation is that tool and Oppenheimer Biotechnology can show you how to use it to save money, reduce the length of remediation and at the same time have successful results.