Dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners by anaerobic microorganisms from river sediment.

The microbial dechlorination of seven kinds of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) by anaerobic microorganisms from river sediment was investigated. Dechlorination rates were found to be affected by the chlorine level of PCB congeners; dechlorination rates decreased as chlorine levels increased. Dechlorination rates were fastest under methanogenic conditions and slowest under nitrate-reducing conditions. The addition of individual electron donors (acetate, pyruvate, and lactate) enhanced the dechlorination of PCB congeners under methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions but delayed the dechlorination of PCB congeners under nitrate-reducing conditions. PCB congener dechlorination also was delayed by the addition of various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under three reducing conditions and by surfactants, such as brij30, triton SN70, and triton N101. The results suggest that methanogen, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and nitrate-reducing bacteria all are involved in the dechlorination of PCB congeners.

Reductive transformation of dieldrin under anaerobic sediment culture.

A pathway of dieldrin transformation to aldrin by epoxide reduction was found in this study. Investigation of dieldrin degradation under anaerobic conditions was performed with a mixed culture containing indigenous microorganisms obtained from sediment of the Er-Jen River in Taiwan. During the incubation, the transformation of dieldrin to aldrin was analyzed by GC-ECD and GC-MS. Effects of incubation factors including dieldrin concentrations, incubation temperatures and kinds of carbon sources on the degradation of dieldrin were also studied. Original concentrations (from 0.5 to 10 microg ml(-1)) of dieldrin affect the transformation rate of dieldrin, and lower concentrations indicated the higher degradation rates. But once the concentration higher than 100 microg ml(-1), almost no degradation occurred. The optimal temperature for degradation in mixed culture was found at 40 degrees C in this study. Dieldrin transformation rates varied with the type of major carbon sources in the mixed culture and were in order of yeast extract > sodium acetate > glucose. In addition, the denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprint revealed that four microbials evolved in dieldrin-amended cultures, but not in the dieldrin-free cultures. Partial sequence of 16S rDNA for these four organisms exhibited 94-99% similarity to those of genera Clostridium, Acidaminobacter and an uncultured bacterial group. These results suggest that the four microbials might promote the dieldrin transformation.

Effect of fungicide iprodione on soil bacterial community.

The effect of the fungicide iprodione on soil bacterial communities was studied by treating two kinds of soils with different concentrations of iprodione. Degradation rates of iprodione in sterile and unsterile soils were also investigated. Residues of iprodione were measured by using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a change of bacterial communities was performed with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) by counting the 16S rDNA band on DGGE patterns. The degradation rate of iprodione was slower in sterile soil than in unsterile soil in both Da-Hu sandy loam and Kuan-Shi loam. After treatment with fungicide, soil bacterial communities were changed and recovered rapidly to the original status when incubated at a lower temperature (15 degrees C) and a lower iprodione concentration (5 microg/g). At the same temperature but with more iprodione (50 microg/g) added, the soil bacterial community increases slowly and regains the original status slowly. However, when incubated at the higher temperature (30 degrees C), the soil bacterial community is more complex than that at the lower temperature. The response of the soil bacterial community to the iprodione is faster at the higher than at the lower temperature. At 30 degrees C and with 50 microg/g iprodione, the amounts of soil bacterial communities increased quickly but cannot be reduced to the original status after incubation for 23 days.

Dechlorination pathways of ortho-substituted PCBs by UV irradiation in n-hexane and their correlation to the charge distribution on carbon atom.

The photodegradations of 22 individual polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (including 21 non-coplanar ortho substituted and one non-ortho substituted) by irradiation with ultraviolet lamp in n-hexane solution were studied. Photoproducts were identified by matching their retention times and mass spectra with those of authentic standards. PCB congener with less than two chlorides was photodegraded within half an hour, if more than three chlorine on ring, the photodechlorination time for PCB needs one and half hours or more, sometimes even longer than 15 h. The half-life of PCB degradation by photodechlorination was much shorter than that by anaerobic biological dechlorination. Charge distribution on carbon atom combined with the monitoring products of individual PCB congeners were used to deduce the photodegradation pathways. The higher the charge distribution for carbon to which chlorine is attached, the easier for photodechlorination to occur. A lot of chlorine atoms attached PCB, the dechlorination was found to occur prior to the carbon with higher charge distribution at the benzene ring with more chlorine atoms attached.