Decoupling Fe 0 Application and Bioaugmentation in Space and Time Enables Microbial Reductive Dechlorination of Trichloroethene to Ethene: Evidence from Soil Columns

Fe is a powerful chemical reductant with applications for remediation of chlorinated solvents, including tetrachloroethene and trichloroethene. Its utilization efficiency at contaminated sites is limited because most of the electrons from Fe are channeled to the reduction of water to H rather than to the reduction of the contaminants. Coupling Fe with H -utilizing organohalide-respiring bacteria (i.e., ) could enhance trichloroethene conversion to ethene while maximizing Fe utilization efficiency. Columns packed with aquifer materials have been used to assess the efficacy of a treatment combining in space and time Fe and a -containing culture (bioaugmentation). To date, most column studies documented only partial conversion of the solvents to chlorinated byproducts, calling into question the feasibility of Fe to promote complete microbial reductive dechlorination. In this study, we decoupled the application of Fe in space and time from the addition of organic substrates and -containing cultures. We used a column containing soil and Fe (at 15 g L in porewater) and fed it with groundwater as a proxy for an upstream Fe injection zone dominated by abiotic reactions and biostimulated/bioaugmented soil columns (Bio-columns) as proxies for downstream microbiological zones. Results showed that Bio-columns receiving reduced groundwater from the Fe -column supported microbial reductive dechlorination, yielding up to 98% trichloroethene conversion to ethene. The microbial community in the Bio-columns established with Fe -reduced groundwater also sustained trichloroethene reduction to ethene (up to 100%) when challenged with aerobic groundwater. This study supports a conceptual model where decoupling the application of Fe and biostimulation/bioaugmentation in space and/or time could augment microbial trichloroethene reductive dechlorination, particularly under oxic conditions.