- 15 - 1 - CHAPTER 15 . Biodegradation of Perchlorate

Perchlorate (ClO4) has been detected in some states in the U.S and become an environmental concern since the late 1990’s. Perchlorate properties, contamination, and health effects were introduced in this paper. Perchlorate biodegradation degradation were introduced and summarized. According to recent studies, perchlorate respiring bacteria are present in natural environments, providing possibility for perchlorate biodegradation. Compared to other perchlorate remediation techniques, biodegradation is cost effective and clean. A commonly accepted pathway of perchlorate reduction was successfully used by several researchers. Several studies indicated that perchlorate biodegradation is pseudo-first order kinetics. Metabolism of perchlorate respiring bacteria was introduced and summarized. Effecting factors of perchlorate biodegradation was also summarized in this paper.