TY - JOUR
T1 - Decoupling Fe0 Application and Bioaugmentation in Space and Time Enables Microbial Reductive Dechlorination of Trichloroethene to Ethene
T2 - Evidence from Soil Columns
AU - Mohana Rangan, Srivatsan
AU - Rao, Shefali
AU - Robles, Aide
AU - Mouti, Aatikah
AU - LaPat-Polasko, Laurie
AU - Lowry, Gregory V.
AU - Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa
AU - Delgado, Anca G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.
PY - 2023/3/14
Y1 - 2023/3/14
N2 - Fe0 is a powerful chemical reductant with applications for remediation of chlorinated solvents, including tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene. Its utilization efficiency at contaminated sites is limited because most of the electrons from Fe0 are channeled to the reduction of water to H2 rather than to the reduction of the contaminants. Coupling Fe0 with H2-utilizing organohalide-respiring bacteria (i.e., Dehalococcoides mccartyi) could enhance trichloroethene conversion to ethene while maximizing Fe0 utilization efficiency. Columns packed with aquifer materials have been used to assess the efficacy of a treatment combining in space and time Fe0 and aD. mccartyi-containing culture (bioaugmentation). To date, most column studies documented only partial conversion of the solvents to chlorinated byproducts, calling into question the feasibility of Fe0 to promote complete microbial reductive dechlorination. In this study, we decoupled the application of Fe0 in space and time from the addition of organic substrates andD. mccartyi-containing cultures. We used a column containing soil and Fe0 (at 15 g L-1 in porewater) and fed it with groundwater as a proxy for an upstream Fe0 injection zone dominated by abiotic reactions and biostimulated/bioaugmented soil columns (Bio-columns) as proxies for downstream microbiological zones. Results showed that Bio-columns receiving reduced groundwater from the Fe0-column supported microbial reductive dechlorination, yielding up to 98% trichloroethene conversion to ethene. The microbial community in the Bio-columns established with Fe0-reduced groundwater also sustained trichloroethene reduction to ethene (up to 100%) when challenged with aerobic groundwater. This study supports a conceptual model where decoupling the application of Fe0 and biostimulation/bioaugmentation in space and/or time could augment microbial trichloroethene reductive dechlorination, particularly under oxic conditions.
AB - Fe0 is a powerful chemical reductant with applications for remediation of chlorinated solvents, including tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene. Its utilization efficiency at contaminated sites is limited because most of the electrons from Fe0 are channeled to the reduction of water to H2 rather than to the reduction of the contaminants. Coupling Fe0 with H2-utilizing organohalide-respiring bacteria (i.e., Dehalococcoides mccartyi) could enhance trichloroethene conversion to ethene while maximizing Fe0 utilization efficiency. Columns packed with aquifer materials have been used to assess the efficacy of a treatment combining in space and time Fe0 and aD. mccartyi-containing culture (bioaugmentation). To date, most column studies documented only partial conversion of the solvents to chlorinated byproducts, calling into question the feasibility of Fe0 to promote complete microbial reductive dechlorination. In this study, we decoupled the application of Fe0 in space and time from the addition of organic substrates andD. mccartyi-containing cultures. We used a column containing soil and Fe0 (at 15 g L-1 in porewater) and fed it with groundwater as a proxy for an upstream Fe0 injection zone dominated by abiotic reactions and biostimulated/bioaugmented soil columns (Bio-columns) as proxies for downstream microbiological zones. Results showed that Bio-columns receiving reduced groundwater from the Fe0-column supported microbial reductive dechlorination, yielding up to 98% trichloroethene conversion to ethene. The microbial community in the Bio-columns established with Fe0-reduced groundwater also sustained trichloroethene reduction to ethene (up to 100%) when challenged with aerobic groundwater. This study supports a conceptual model where decoupling the application of Fe0 and biostimulation/bioaugmentation in space and/or time could augment microbial trichloroethene reductive dechlorination, particularly under oxic conditions.
KW - Dehalococcoides mccartyi
KW - ZVI)
KW - bioremediation
KW - dehalogenation
KW - reductive dechlorination
KW - trichloroethene (TCE)
KW - zerovalent iron (Fe
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85149422245&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85149422245&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.2c06433
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.2c06433
M3 - Article
C2 - 36866930
AN - SCOPUS:85149422245
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 57
SP - 4167
EP - 4179
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 10
ER -