Reductive dechlorination pathways of chloro organics under anaerobic conditions

The transformation pathways of chloroanilines (CAs), chlorobenzenes (CBs) and chlorophenols (CPs) were examined in anaerobic sediment collected from the Tsurumi river, Japan. The sediment was pre-exposed to various organic chemicals from the surrounding industries and appears to be sulfidogenic. Experiments were carried out for each compound in the sediment slurry, which was spiked at a desired concentration. The transformation of the parent substrate and the appearance of its metabolites were monitored for a year. All the compounds transformed without any lag period. For CBs, the preferential Cl removal was in the order: two Cl atoms on adjacent carbon atoms > one Cl atom on adjacent carbon > no adjacent Cl atom on the carbon. In case of CPs, ortho dechlorination was the preferred pathway, while for CAs, sequential removal of ortho and para positions was observed.