Factors Affecting Cis-Dichloroethene and Vinyl Chloride Biological Transformation Under Anaerobic Conditions

Abstract

The chlorinated solvents, trichloroethene (TCE), tetrachloroethene (PCE), and carbon tetrachloride (CT) have been widely used by industry, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy as solvents for cleaning. Through leakage and poor disposal practices, these solvents have become the most frequent groundwater contaminants throughout the country, causing one of the most difficult and costly contamination problems for remediation. The biological anaerobic reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) such as PCE and TCE to cis-dichloroethene (cDCE) and vinyl chloride (VC) in groundwater was reported in the early 1980s. Further reduction of PCE and its intermediates to the harmless end product ethene was reported in 1989. Several pure cultures of anaerobic bacteria have been found to reductively dehalogenate PCE to cDCE. Rates of reduction of PCE and TCE to cDCE are high and the need for electron donor addition for the reactions is small.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA635026

Entities

People

  • Alfred M Spormann

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alkenes
  • Bacteria
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Databases
  • Ecology
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Gene Expression
  • Genetics
  • Groundwater
  • Microbiology
  • Microorganisms
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Organic Compounds

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Groundwater Contamination Remediation.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics