Studies have identified two distinct biological processes capable of biotransforming polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs): aerobic oxidative processes and anaerobic reductive processes. It is now known that these two complementary activities are occurring naturally in the environment. Anaerobic PCB dechlorination, responsible for the conversion of highly chlorinated PCBs to lightly chlorinated orth...

The γ isomer of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), also known as lindane, is a carcinogenic persistent organic pollutant. Lindane was used worldwide an agricultural insecticide. Legacy soil and groundwater contamination with lindane other HCH isomers still big concern. biotic reductive dechlorination to nondesirable toxic lower chlorinated compounds such monochlorobenzene (MCB) benzene, among others,...

The achievement of successful biostimulation of active microbiomes for the cleanup of a polluted site is strictly dependent on the knowledge of the key microorganisms equipped with the relevant catabolic genes responsible for the degradation process. In this work, we present the characterization of the bacterial community developed in anaerobic microcosms after biostimulation with the electron ...

The gas-phase dissociation of perchloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), and cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) on zerovalent iron Fe(110) was investigated using periodic density functional theory (DFT) with the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and climbing image nudged elastic band method (CI-NEB). Activation energies and dechlorination rate constants for reductive beta-elimination of the...

Efforts to achieve the decomposition of carbon tetrachloride through anaerobic and aerobic bioremediation and chemical transformation have met with limited success because of the conditions required and the formation of hazardous intermediates. Recently, particles of zero-valent iron (ZVI) have been used with limited success for in situ remediation of carbon tetrachloride. We studied a modified...

The reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE) at contaminated sites often results in the accumulation of cis-1,2-dichloroethene (DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC), rather than the nonhazardous end product ethene. This accumulation may be caused by the absence of appropriate microorganisms, insufficient supply of donor substrate, or reaction kinetic limitations. He...

Microcosms capable of reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) were constructed in glass bottles by seeding them with a polluted river sediment and incubating them anaerobically with an organic medium. All of the PCDD/F congeners detected were equally reduced without the accumulation of significant amounts of less-chlorinated congeners as the interme...