Dechlorination of VC and cis-DCE by Reduced Iron Minerals Produced under Iron and Sulfate Reducing Conditions

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

CBET-0730064 Kim Hayes University of Michigan Dechlorination of VC and cis-DCE by Reduced Iron Minerals Produced under Iron and Sulfate Reducing Conditions The goal of this project is to identify reduced iron minerals and geochemical conditions that promote complete abiotic reductive dechlorination of two intermediates in the dechlorination pathways of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE): cis-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Build-up of these compounds, which are more toxic than the parent compounds, has been found in contaminated ground water due (mainly) to partial dechlorination of PCE and/or TCE. The project has three objectives: (1) produce reactive nano-particles of reduced iron minerals under environmentally relevant reducing conditions, (2) investigate the rates and mechanisms of VC and cis-DCE reductive dechlorination by these iron minerals, and (3) evaluate the effects of pH and NOM on reductive dechlorination of the compounds by these minerals. The proposal addresses an important and unresolved problem in ground-water remediation; remediation of ground-water sites contaminated by PCE and TCE is still a major environmental problem in the United States, and the project will improve our understanding of the conditions that promote complete dechlorination of these toxic compounds.