Systematic Approach for Modeling Tetrachloroethene Biodegradation
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 124, Issue 11
Abstract
The anaerobic biodegradation of tetrachloroethene (PCE) is a reasonably well understood process. Specific organisms capable of using PCE as an electron acceptor for growth require the addition of an electron donor to remove PCE from contaminated ground waters. However, competition from other anaerobic microorganisms for added electron donor will influence the rate and completeness of PCE degradation. The approach developed here allows for the explicit modeling of PCE and byproduct biodegradation as a function of electron donor and byproduct concentrations, and the microbiological ecology of the system. The approach is general and can be easily modified for ready use with in situ ground-water models or ex situ reactor models. Simulations conducted with models developed from this approach show the sensitivity of PCE biodegradation to input parameter values, in particular initial biomass concentrations. Additionally, the dechlorination rate will be strongly influenced by the microbial ecology of the system. Finally, comparison with experimental acclimation results indicates that existing kinetic constants may not be generally applicable. Better techniques for measuring the biomass of specific organism groups in mixed systems are required.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Bagley, D. M., and Gossett, J. M.(1990). “Tetrachloroethene transformation to trichloroethene and cis-1,2-dichloroethene by sulfate-reducing enrichment cultures.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 57(1), 228–235.
2.
Ballapragada, B. S., Stensel, H. D., Puhakka, J. A., and Ferguson, J. F.(1997). “Effect of hydrogen on reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes.”Envir. Sci. Technol., 31(6), 1728–1734.
3.
Buscheck, T. E., O'Reilly, K. T., and Hickman, G. (1997). “Intrinsic anaerobic biodegradation of chlorinated solvents at a manufacturing plant.”In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation: Volume 3, 4th Int. In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symp., Battelle Press, Columbus, Ohio.
4.
Chu, K. H., and Jewell, W. J.(1994). “Treatment of tetrachloroethylene with anaerobic attached film process.”J. Envir. Engrg., ASCE, 120(1), 58–71.
5.
Cirpka, O. (1995). “Influence of hydraulic aquifer properties on reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene.”Bioremediation of chlorinated solvents, R. E. Hinchee, A. Leeson, and L. Semprini, eds., Battelle Press, Columbus, Ohio, 25–34.
6.
Corapcioglu, M. Y., Hossain, M. A., and Hossain, M. A.(1991). “Methanogenic biotransformations of chlorinated hydrocarbons in ground water.”J. Envir. Engrg., ASCE, 117(1), 47–65.
7.
de Bruin, W. P., Kotterman, M. J. J., Posthumus, M. A., Schraa, G., and Zehnder, A. J. B.(1992). “Complete biological reductive transformation of tetrachloroethene to ethane.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 58(6), 1996–2000.
8.
DiStefano, T. D., Gossett, J. M., and Zinder, S. H.(1991). “Reductive dechlorination of high concentrations of tetrachloroethene to ethene by an anaerobic enrichment culture in the absence of methanogenesis.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 57(8), 2287–2292.
9.
Fathepure, B. Z., and Boyd, S. A.(1988). “Dependence of tetrachloroethylene dechlorination on methanogenic substrate consumption by Methanosarcina sp. strain DCM.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 54, 2976–2980.
10.
Fennell, D. E., Gossett, J. M., and Zinder, S. H.(1997). “Comparison of butyric acid, ethanol, lactic acid, and propionic acid as hydrogen donors for the reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene.”Envir. Sci. Technol., 31(3), 918–926.
11.
Freedman, D. L., and Gossett, J. M.(1989). “Biological reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene to ethylene under methanogenic conditions.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 55(9), 2144–2151.
12.
Haston, Z. C., and McCarty, P. L. (1997). “Kinetics of the anaerobic dehalogenation of perchloroethylene.”In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation: Volume 3, 4th Int. In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symp., Battelle Press, Columbus, Ohio.
13.
Henze, M., Grady, Jr., C. P. L., Gujer, W., Marais, G. v. R., and Matsuo, T. (1987). “Activated Sludge Model No. 1,”IAWPRC Scientific and Technical Rep. No. 1, IAWPRC, London.
14.
Henze, M., Gujer, W., Mino, T., Matsuo, T., Wentzel, M. C., and Marais, G. v. R. (1995). “Activated Sludge Model No. 2.”IAWQ Scientific and Technical Rep. No. 3, IAWQ, London.
15.
Holliger, C., Schraa, G., Stams, A. J. M., and Zehnder, A. J. B.(1993). “A highly purified enrichment culture couples the reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene to growth.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 59(9), 2991–2997.
16.
Kim, I. S., Young, J. C., and Tabak, H. H.(1996). “Impact of chloroanilines on hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis in ethanol-enriched cultures.”Water Res., 30(3), 601–612.
17.
Krumholz, L. R., Sharp, R., and Fishbain, S. S.(1996). “A freshwater anaerobe coupling acetate oxidation to tetrachloroethylene dehalogenation.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 62(11), 4108–4113.
18.
Lalonde, M., Bagley, D. M., and Sleep, B. E. (1997). “Acclimation of anaerobic systems to biodegrade chlorinated solvents.”Proc., 1997 CSCE-ASCE Envir. Engrg. Conf., Vol. 2, Can. Soc. for Civil Engrg., Montreal, Canada, 997–1008.
19.
Maillacheruvu, K. Y., and Parkin, G. F.(1996). “Kinetics of growth, substrate utilization and sulfide toxicity for propionate, acetate, and hydrogen utilizers in anaerobic systems.”Water Envir. Res., 68(7), 1099–1106.
20.
Maymó-Gatell, X., Chien, Y.-t., Gossett, J. M., and Zinder, S. H.(1997). “Isolation of a bacterium that reductively dechlorinates tetrachloroethene to ethene.”Science, 276, 1568–1571.
21.
Munz, C., and Roberts, P. V.(1987). “Air-water phase equilibria of volatile organic solvents.”J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 79(5), 62–69.
22.
Pontius, F. W.(1992). “A current look at the federal drinking water regulations.”J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 84(3), 36–50.
23.
Press, W. H., Teukolsky, S. A., Vetterling, W. T., and Flannery, B. P. (1992). Numerical recipes in C: The art of scientific computing, 2nd Ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
24.
Rosner, B. M., McCarty, P. L., and Spormann, A. M.(1997). “In vitro studies on reductive vinyl chloride dehalogenation by an anaerobic mixed culture.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 63(11), 4139–4144.
25.
Schink, B., Kremer, D. R., and Hansen, T. A.(1987). “Pathway of propionate formation from ethanol in Pelobacter propionicus.”Arch. Microbiol., 147, 321–327.
26.
Scholz-Muramatsu, H., Neumann, A., Messmer, M., Moore, E., and Diekert, G.(1995). “Isolation and characterization of Dehalospirillum multivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., a tetrachloroethene-utilizing, strictly anaerobic bacterium.”Arch. Microbiol., 163, 48–56.
27.
Sharma, P. K., and McCarty, P. L.(1996). “Isolation and characterization of a facultatively aerobic bacterium that reductively dehalogenates tetrachloroethene to cis-1,2-dichloroethene.”Appl. Envir. Microbiol., 62(3), 761–765.
28.
Skeen, R. S., Gao, J., and Hooker, B. S.(1995). “Kinetics of chlorinated ethylene dehalogenation under methanogenic conditions.”Biotechnol. Bioengrg., 48, 659–666.
29.
Smatlak, C. R., Gossett, J. M., and Zinder, S. H.(1996). “Comparative kinetics of hydrogen utilization for reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene and methanogenesis in an anaerobic enrichment culture.”Envir. Sci. Technol., 30(9), 2850–2858.
30.
Stumm, W., and Morgan, J. J. (1981). Aquatic Chemistry, 2nd Ed., John Wiley and Sons, Inc., New York.
31.
Tandoi, V., DiStefano, T. D., Bowser, P. A., Gossett, J. M., and Zinder, S. H.(1994). “Reductive dehalogenation of chlorinated ethenes and halogenated ethanes by a high-rate anaerobic enrichment culture.”Envir. Sci. Technol., 28(5), 973–979.
32.
Wrenn, B. A., and Rittmann, B. E.(1995). “A model for the effects of primary substrates on the kinetics of reductive dehalogenation.”Biodegradation, 6, 295–308.
33.
Wu, W.-M., Nye, J., Hickey, R. F., Jain, M. K., and Zeikus, J. G. (1995). “Dechlorination of PCE and TCE to ethene using anaerobic microbial consortium.”Bioremediation of Chlorinated Solvents, R. E. Hinchee, A. Leeson, and L. Semprini, eds., Battelle Press, Columbus, Ohio, 45–52.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 124 • Issue 11 • November 1998
Pages: 1076 - 1086
Copyright
Copyright © 1998 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 1, 1998
Published in print: Nov 1998
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.