Kinetic and isotope analyses of tetrachloroethylene and trichloroethylene degradation by model Fe(II)-bearing minerals

The kinetics and in some cases stable carbon isotope fractionation associated with abiotic reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) by model Fe(II)-bearing minerals present in anaerobic soils were measured. The minerals studied were chloride green rust (GR-Cl), sulfate green rust (GR-SO4), pyrite, magnetite, and adsorbed Fe(II) or FeS formed at the surface of goethite by treatment with dissolved Fe(II) or S(-II). We observed some abiotic transformation of PCE and TCE in every system studied, as evidenced by the presence of abiotic reaction products. Bulk enrichment factors (εbulk values) for TCE transformation by GR-Cl and pyrite were −23.0 ± 1.8‰ and −21.7 ± 1.0‰, respectively, which are more negative than reported values for microbial TCE dechlorination and could provide one means for distinguishing microbial from abiotic dechlorination of TCE in the environment. Considering the time scale of subsurface remediation technologies, including natural attenuation, minerals such as green rusts, pyrite, and magnetite have the potential to contribute to the transformation of PCE and TCE at contaminated sites.