American Chemical Society, Environmental Science and Technology, 3(48), p. 1851-1858, 2014
DOI: 10.1021/es403582f
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Chloroform (CF) is a widespread groundwater contaminant not susceptible to aerobic degradation. Under anoxic conditions, CF can undergo abiotic and co-metabolic transformation but detoxification is generally not achieved. The recent discovery of distinct Dehalobacter strains that respire CF to dichloromethane (DCM) and ferment DCM to non-chlorinated products promises that bioremediation of CF plumes is feasible. To track both strains, 16S rRNA gene-based qPCR assays specific for either Dehalobacter strain were designed and validated. A laboratory treatability study explored the value of bioaugmentation and biostimulation to achieve CF detoxification using anoxic microcosms established with aquifer material from a CF-contaminated site. Microcosms that received 6% (vol/vol) of the CF-to-DCM-dechlorinating culture Dhb-CF to achieve an initial Dehalobacter cell titer of 1.6 ± 0.9 x 10(4) mL(-1) dechlorinated CF to stoichiometric amounts of DCM. Subsequent augmentation with 3% (vol/vol) of the DCM-degrading consortium RM to an initial Dehalobacter cell abundance of 1.2 ± 0.2 x 10(2) mL(-1) achieved complete DCM degradation in microcosms amended with 10 mM bicarbonate. Growth of the CF-respiring and the DCM-degrading Dehalobacter populations and detoxification were also observed in microcosms that received both inocula simultaneously. These findings suggest that anaerobic bioremediation (e.g., bioaugmentation) is a possible remedy at CF- and DCM-contaminated sites without CT, which strongly inhibited CF organohalide respiration and DCM organohalide fermentation.