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Effect of pore velocity on biodegradation of cis-dichloroethene (DCE) in column experiments

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Abstract

Column experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of pore velocity on the extent of biodegradation of cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) during transport in porous media. Columns were filled with homogeneous glass beads and inoculated with a culture capable of complete dechlorination of tetrachloroethene to ethene. A constant concentration of cis-DCE was maintained in the columns’ influent. Three different pore velocities were tested in duplicate, subjecting each column to a constant velocity. At high flow velocity, degradation of cis-DCE to ethene was nearly complete within the residence time of the columns. However, at medium and low flow velocities, incomplete dechlorination was observed. After 7 weeks, DNA was harvested from the columns to determine differences in the microbial populations. Results suggest that Dehalococcoides sp. were present in higher quantities in the high-velocity columns, consistent with the observed dechlorination. These results suggest that, at contaminated groundwater sites, heterogeneity of groundwater velocity may be one factor that contributes to heterogeneous distribution of biological activity.

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Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the help of: Dr. Chang Ping for laboratory supervision in the DNA extraction; SiREM for providing the KB-1® culture used in this research; and Sandra Dworatzek, Phil Dennis, and Elizabeth Ney (all of SiREM) for their technical advice and assistance in the DGGE and qPCR analysis. The authors thank an anonymous reviewer for a thorough and constructive review of a previous version of this paper. Financial support for this research has been provided to Thomas J. McDonald from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) through the Superfund Grant #P42 ES04917, and to Itza Mendoza from the following sources: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT), México; Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Ciudad de México, México; and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) through the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NIEHS, CONACYT, IPN, USGS, or TWRI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Escuela Superior de Ingeniería y Arquitectura, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico

    Itza Mendoza-Sanchez

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Robin L. Autenrieth

  3. School of Rural Public Health, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Thomas J. McDonald

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 33620, USA

    Jeffrey A. Cunningham

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  1. Itza Mendoza-Sanchez
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  2. Robin L. Autenrieth
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  3. Thomas J. McDonald
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  4. Jeffrey A. Cunningham
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Correspondence to Jeffrey A. Cunningham.

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Mendoza-Sanchez, I., Autenrieth, R.L., McDonald, T.J. et al. Effect of pore velocity on biodegradation of cis-dichloroethene (DCE) in column experiments. Biodegradation 21, 365–377 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-009-9307-6

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