• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.120-129
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• 2016

An industrial complex in Wonju, contaminated with trichloroethene (TCE), was one of the most problematic sites in Korea. Despite repeated remedial trials for decades, chlorinated ethenes remained as sources of down-gradient groundwater contamination. Recent efforts were being made to remove the contaminants of the area, but knowledge of the indigenous microbial communities and their dechlorination abilities were unknown. Thus, the objectives of the present study were (i) to evaluate the dechlorination abilities of indigenous microbes at the contaminated site, (ii) to characterize which microbes and reductive dehalogenase genes were responsible for the dechlorination reactions, and (iii) to develop a PCE-to-ethene dechlorinating microbial consortium. An enrichment culture that dechlorinates PCE to ethene was obtained from Wonju stream, nearby a trichloroethene (TCE)-contaminated industrial complex. The community profiling revealed that known organohalide-respiring microbes, such as Geobacter, Desulfuromonas, and Dehalococcoides grew during the incubation with chlorinated ethenes. Although Chloroflexi populations (i.e., Longilinea and Bellilinea) were the most enriched in the sediment microcosms, those were not found in the transfer cultures. Based upon the results from pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and qPCR using TaqMan chemistry, close relatives of Dehalococcoides mccartyi strains FL2 and GT seemed to be dominant and responsible for the complete detoxification of chlorinated ethenes in the transfer cultures. This study also demonstrated that the contaminated site harbors indigenous microbes that can convert PCE to ethene, and the developed consortium can be an important resource for future bioremediation efforts.

• Proceedings of KOSOMES biannual meeting
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.185-185
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• 2007

Starting at the beginning q the 20th century, increasing amounts of tetrach1oroethene (PCE) and trichloroethene (TCE)were manufactured due to the extensive use of these compounds in industry, in the military, and in private households, mainly as nonflammable solvents. This widespread use, along with careless handling and storage, are among the most serious contaminants of soil, sediment and groundwater. Highly chlorinated ethenes are typically not degraded through oxygenation by aerobic bacteria Since complete reductive dechlorination of PCE and TCE to ethene (ETH) has been observed in anaerobic enrichment culture, anaerobic dehalorespiring bacteria have received increased attention in the last decade. Under anaerobic conditions, these compounds con be reductively dehalogenated to less-chlorinated ethenes or innocuous ethene by microorganism through dehalorespiration. We have been studying anaerobic enrichment culture which used lactate as the electron donor for reductive dechlorination of PCE to ETH the anaerobic mixed microbial culture was enriched from the sediment sample taken from site contaminated with PCE. PCE was consistently and completely converted to ethene. In addition, the accumulation of intermediate products such as 1,2-ds-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC) was observed in the anaerobic mixed microbial culture. the established dechlorinating enrichment culture was analyzed by DGGE using primers specific to DefrJ1ococcoides 16S rRNA gene sequences. In conclusion, we established the PCE dechlorinating enrichment culture and confirmed the existence of Dehalococcoides in an enrichment culture.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.366-372
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• 2003

The production of microbiologically enriched cultures that degrade cis- 1,2-dichloroethylene(DCE) under anaerobic conditions was investigated. Among 80 environmental samples, 19 displayed significant degradation of $10{\mu}M$ cis-DCE during 1 month of anaerobic incubation, and one sediment sample collected at a landfill area (Nanji-do, Seoul, Korea) showed the greatest degradation ($94\%$). When this sediment culture was subcultured repeatedly, the ability to degrade cis-DCE gradually decreased. However, under Fe(III)-reducing conditions, cis-DCE degradation by the subculture was found to be maintained effectively. In the Fe(III)-reducing subculture, vinyl chloride (VC) was also degraded at the same extent as cis-DCE No accumulation of VC during the cis-DCE degradation was observed. Thus, Fe(III)-reducing microbes might be involved in the anaerobic degradation of the chlorinated ethenes. However, the subcultures established with Fe(III) could function even in the absence of Fe(III), showing that the degradation of cis-DCE and VC was not directly coupled with the Fe(III) reduction. Consequently, the two series of enrichment cultures could not be obtained that degrade both cis-DCE and VC in the presence or absence of Fe(III). Considering the lack of VC accumulation, both cultures reported herein may involve interesting mechanism(s) for the microbial remediation of environments contaminated with chlorinated ethenes. A number of fermentative reducers (microbes) which are known to reduce Fe(III) during their anaerobic growth are potential candidates involved in cir-DCE degradation in the presence and absence of Fe(III).

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.26 no.11
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• pp.1201-1208
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• 2017

Oxidative degradation of chlorinated ethenes was carried out using heat-activated persulfate. The activation rate of persulfate was dependent on the temperature and the activation reaction rate could be explained based on the Arrhenius equation. The activation energy of persulfate was 19.3 kcal/mol under the assumption that the reaction between the sulfate radical and tricholoroethene (TCE) is very fast. Activation could be achieved at a moderate temperature, so that the adverse effects due to high temperature in the soil environment were mitigated. The reaction rate of TCE was directly proportional to the concentration of persulfate, indicating that the remediation rate can be controlled by the concentration of the injected persulfate. The solution was acidized after the oxidation, and this was dependent on the oxidation temperature. The consumption rate of persulfate was high in the presence of the target organic, but the self-decomposition rate became very low as the target was completely removed.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.8-17
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• 2013

The contamination of chlorinated ethenes at an industrial complex, Wonju, Korea, was examined based on sixteen rounds of groundwater quality data collected from 2009 to 2013. Remediation technologies such as soil vapor extraction, soil flushing, biostimulation, and pumping-and-treatment have been applied to eliminate the contaminant sources of trichloroethylene (TCE) and to prevent the migration of TCE plume from remediation target zones. At each remediation target zone, temporal monitoring data before and after the application of remediation techniques showed that the aqueous concentrations of TCE plume present at and around the main source areas decreased significantly as a result of remediation technologies. However, the TCE concentration of the plumes at the downstream area remained unchanged in response to the remediation action, but it showed a great fluctuation according to seasonal recharge variation during the monitoring period. Therefore, variations in the contaminant flux across three transects were analyzed. Prior to the remediation action, the concentration and mass discharges of TCE at the transects were affected by seasonal recharge variation and residual DNAPLs sources. After the remediation, the effect of remediation took place clearly at the transects. By tracing a time-series of plume evolution, a greater variation in the TCE concentrations was detected at the plumes near the source zones compared to the relatively stable plumes in the downstream. The difference in the temporal profiles of TCE concentrations between the plumes in the source zone and those in the downstream could have resulted from remedial actions taken at the source zones. This study demonstrates that long term monitoring data are useful in assessing the effectiveness of remediation practices.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.436-443
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• 2007

Anaerobic reductive dehalogenation of perchloroethene (PCE) was studied with lactate as the electron donor in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) inoculated with a mixed culture previously shown to dehalogenate vinyl chloride (VC). cis-1,2- dichloroethene (cDCE) was the dominant intermediate at relatively long cell retention times (>56 days) and the electron acceptor to electron donor molar ratio (PCE:lactate) of 1:2. cDCE was transformed to VC completely at the PCE to lactate molar ratio of 1:4, and the final products of PCE dehalogenation were VC (80%) and ethene (20%). VC dehalogenation was inhibited by cDCE dehalogenation. Propionate produced from the fermentation of lactate might be used as electron donor for the dehalogenation. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of increased hydrogen, VC, and trichloroethene (TCE) on VC dehalogenation which is the rate-limiting step in PCE dehalogenation The addition of TCE increased the VC dehalogenaiton rate more than an increase in the $H_2$ concentration, which suggests that the introduction of TCE induces the production of an enzyme that can comtabolize VC.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.37 no.6 s.169
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• pp.613-629
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• 2004

Contamination of groundwater by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was investigated for 168 groundwater wells in Ulsan area to study the natural attenuation of organic compounds in the aquifers. As groundwater contamination by VOCs is closely related to land use, 168 groundwater samples were classified into 4 different groups; agricultural, forestry, industrial, and residential & business. From analysis 65 out of 168 groundwater samples contained more than one VOC. Analysis of samples were performed fir 36 halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons and 25 petroleum hydrocarbons set up by NAWQA of US geological survey. Twelve petroleum hydrocarbons were detected in 26 groundwater wells, but their concentrations were less than 1.5 g/L except for MTBE. Twenty three chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, composed of 11 methanes, 6 ethanes and 6 ethenes, were detected in 63 groundwater samples. The range of methanes concentration was $ND\~330\;/gL,\;ethanes\;ND\~84\;gL$, and PCE and their derivatives $ND\~62\;g/L$. As the study area was comprised of the aerobic/denitrification zones and $Fe^{+3}$ redox condition, most of petroleum hydrocarbons were degraded well, while halogenated hydrocarbons were slowly biodegradation.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.292-299
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• 2006

Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of the electron donor dosage and the initial biomass on the reductive dechlorination of perchloroethene(PCE) with benzoate as an electron donor. When benzoate was added less than the theoretical requirement for dechlorination(electron donor/acceptor ratio=0.5 and 1), the dechlorination efficiency increased from 71% to 94.3% with the increase in benzoate dosage, but the fraction of electron equivalent utilized for dechlorination decreased from 92.7% to 79.6%. Methane production was observed when the hydrogen concentration was higher than the threshold value(10 nM) after PCE and trichloroethene (TCE) were reduced to cis-1,2-dichloroethene(cDCE). When benzoate was added more than the theoretical requirement, the residual hydrogen converted into methane after the completion of dechlorination. The increase in the seeding biomass shortened the lag time for dechlorination, but it did not affect the maximum dechlorination rate as it was mainly governed by the benzoate fermentation rate. When the seeding biomass concentration was high, active dechlorination during the early period increased dechlorination efficiency while decreasing methane production.