Effect of phosphate and sediment bacteria on trichloroethylene dechlorination with zero valent iron

The effects of sediment-isolated bacteria and phosphate on the efficacy of zero valent iron (ZVI) for the dechlorination of trichloroethylene (TCE) were examined in batch experiments. TCE (0.3 mM) and a constant concentration of sediment bacteria were simultaneously exposed to ZVI in the presence of 0 mmol, 15 mmol, and 30 mmol of phosphate. TCE profiles, starting from 0.3 mM to about 0.1 mM, exhibited two-phase of sorption kinetics at all three phosphate concentrations without the sediment bacteria. TCE removal was less and slower with phosphate in the system. With the sediment bacteria, however, more TCE was removed with the sediment bacteria than without it, unlike our initial hypothesis. With the sediment bacteria and phosphate, the concentration of ferrous (0.505 mM) ions was doubled that with phosphate only (0.271 mM). The sediment bacteria in this research, mainly Bacillus sp., could contribute to the long-term stability of ZVI reactivity for dechlorination of TCE in sediment. The sediment bacteria in this research could reduce the iron or chelate the evolved ferrous ions to retain the reducing reactivity of ZVI.