SIMULATING THE DEGRADATION OF TCE UNDER METHANOGENESIS

The purpose of this work was to illustrate a procedure to simulate, based on the methane production, the biodegradation of trichloroethylene by mixed bacterial cultures under methanogenic conditions. For this purpose, the degradation kinetics of trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, and chloroethane were investigated in a series of batch-type experiments. Kinetic rate constants were normalized with respect to the methane production in the vials. These normalized rates measured in the laboratory where then extrapolated to the field scale to simulate the degradation of TCE in aquifers with different methanogenic activities.