MORE | Fall 2018

Reductive Dechlorination of Trichloroethene(TCE) Sustained by Microbial Chain Elongation

The objective of this research is to enrich a novel approach for bioremediation of trichloroethylene (TCE) in soil and groundwater. This approach consists of reducing TCE to non-chlorinated, non-toxic, ethene by utilizing the electron donor, hydrogen, produced from microbial chain elongating (MCE) cultures. Results thus far showed that TCE-reductively dechlorinating microorganisms can successfully use hydrogen produced from MCE to reduce TCE to ethene using a variety of substrates. Future experiments will be dedicated to the fundamental understanding of the synergy between reductive dechlorination and MCE and optimizing this approach for sustainable dechlorination at contaminated sites.