Two chemostats growing a dechlorinating mixed culture were fed tetrachloroethene (PCE) as an electron acceptor and lactate as a fermenting electron donor. One chemostat was amended with sulfate, while the control was not. The effluent composition was continuously monitored, while periodic batch rate tests and the molecular analyses were performed with harvested cells. A numerical model was developed and used to estimate best-fit kinetic parameters for each transformation step. In the control, PCE transformation to ethene [98%] and vinyl chloride (VC) [25%] was achieved over 1000 days of operation, and transformation rate parameters remained fairly constant. Prior to sulfate addition the second chemostat's performance mimicked the control. After sulfate reduction was established VC and cis-dichloroethene were the main products formed, and a significant decrease in the VC transformation rate was observed. The molecular analysis showed a shift in the Dehalococcoides population in response to the change in the chemostat performance.

Kinetics and molecular analysis of a dechlorinating culture grown under chemostat conditions in the presence and absence of sulfate

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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