When compounds are persistent in the environment

Intermediates in biodegradation of anthropogenic compounds (chelates and PCBs).

When compounds are persistent in the environment, their biodegradation often proceeds through multiple steps utilizing different enzyme systems or different microbial populations. This dependence on multiple steps can lead to intermediate persistence, recalcitrance to full mineralization, and slow growth of the microorganisms that are the catalyst for bioremediation. My work to date in this area has focused on two classes of compounds – anthropogenic chelating agents (NTA and EDTA) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Chelating agents are used throughout industrial and consumer products and processes to control metal concentrations. Prior to the manufacturing ban in the early 1970s, PCBs were used extensively for their fire retardant properties in transformers and other industrial processes. These classes of compounds require specialized bacterial populations for complete degradation; persistence of the parent compound or downstream degradation intermediates is common. In the case of chelates, we have evaluated the formation of interemediates through (1) development of new analytical techniques for their concurrent detection, (2) determination of bacterial yield on EDTA and NTA and their formed intermediates, and (3) tracking intermediates during the course of degradation under various environmental conditions. In the case of PCBs, we are working on (1) statistical analysis of source PCBs and environmental samples to determine the level and type of transformation observed in the field, (2) thermodynamic analysis of the potential for PCB remediation under field conditions at field concentrations, (3) development of a predictive model for pathways in PCB biodegradation, (4) evaluation of the nature of PCB degrading organisms in two river sediments utilizing molecular techniques, and (5) evaluation of the response of microbial populations of PCB degrading organisms to environmental changes in two different sediments.

Publications in this area

Nowak, B. and VanBriesen, J.M. (editors) Biogeochemistry of Chelating Agents, ACS Symposium Series 910. Oxford University Press for the American Chemical Society, Washington DC 2005. (Table of Contents)

Nowack, B. and VanBriesen, J.M. “Chelating agents in the environment,” in Biogeochemistry of Chelating Agents (B. Nowack and JM. VanBriesen, editors; ACS Symposium Series 910) Oxford University Press for the American Chemical Society, Washington DC 2005; pp. 1-18. Full Text PDF.

Yuan, Z. and VanBriesen, J.M. “Analysis of biodegradation intermediate of ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) and nitrilotriacetate (NTA) by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)” in Biogeochemistry of Chelating Agents (B. Nowack and JM. VanBriesen, editors; ACS Symposium Series 910) Oxford University Press for the American Chemical Society, Washington DC 2005; pp. 139-148.Full Text PDF.

Yuan, Zhiwen and VanBriesen, J.M.(2005) “Intermediate formation in biodegradation of EDTA and NTA,” Environmental Engineering Science 23(3): 533-544. Full text PDF.

Yuan, Z. and VanBriesen, J.M., (2007) “Bacterial growth yields on EDTA, NTA, and their biodegradation intermediates, ” accepted and to appear Biodegradation Full text PDF.

Karcher, S., VanBriesen, J.M., and Small, M.J, (2007) "Numerical Method to Elucidate Likely Target Positions of Chlorine Removal in Anaerobic Sediments undergoing Polychlorinated biphenyl dechlorination," accepted and to appear ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering.

Karcher, S., Small, M.J., and VanBriesen, J.M., “Statistical method to evaluate the occurrence of transformations in river sediments,” (2004) Environmental Science and Technology 38: 6760-6766. On-Line with supporting information.

Rittmann, B.E., Banaszak, J.E.,VanBriesen, J.M. and Reed, D.T. (2002) “Mathematical modeling of precipitation and dissolution reactions in microbiological systems,” Biodegradation 13(4): 239-251. Full Text PDF.

VanBriesen, J.M., Rittmann, B.E., Xun, L., Girvin, D.C., Bolton, H. Jr. (2000) “The rate controlling form of nitrilotriacetate for biodegradation by Chelatobacter heintzii,” Environmental Science and Technology, 34: 3346-3353. Full Text PDF.

VanBriesen, J.M. and Rittmann, B.E. (2000) “Modeling speciation effects on biodegradation in mixed metal/chelate systems,” Biodegradation 10:315-330. Full Text PDF.

Banaszak, J.E., VanBriesen, J.M., Rittmann, B.E., Reed, D.T. (1998) “Mathematical Modeling of the Effects of Aerobic and Anaerobic Chelate Biodegradation on Actinide Speciation,” Radiochimica Acta, 82: 445-451. Full Text PDF.

Tebes-Stevens, C., Valocchi, A.J., VanBriesen, J.M., and Rittmann, B.E. (1998) “Multicomponent transport with coupled geochemical and microbiological reactions: model description and example simulations,” Journal of Hydrology, 209: 8-26. Full Text PDF.

Posters and Presentations in this area

Wang, C., Araujo, J., McGillen, J., VanBriesen, J.M., Minkley, E., Jr., Brown, W., Analysis of Three Potential PCB Dechlorinator Communities in Two Contaminated River Sediments, Abstracts of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, Atlanta, GA, June 2005. Abstract as PDF. Poster as PDF.

VanBriesen, J.M., Blough, M., Brown, W., and Minkley, E., “Critical oxygen concentrations for biodegradation of PCBs,” American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Fall 2004. Extended abstract published by the Environmental Division. Abstract as PDF. Extended Abstract as PDF. Poster as PDF.

Wang, C., VanBriesen, J.M., Brown, W.E., Minkley, E.G., Jr., “Microbial communities in two river sediments demonstrate distinct anaerobic PCB dechlorination patterns,” American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Fall 2004. Extended abstract published by the Environmental Division. Abstract as PDF. Extended Abstract as PDF.

Karcher, S.C., Small, M.J., VanBriesen, J.M., “Statistical method to evaluate the occurrence of PCB transformations in river sediments,” American Chemical Society Annual Meeting, Fall 2004. Extended abstract published by the Environmental Division. Extended Abstract as PDF. Certificate of Merit for outstanding material content and manner of presentation by ACS Division of Environmental Chemistry.

Wang, C., Minkley, E., Jr., VanBriesen, J.M., Blough, M., Brown, W., “Characterization of the anaerobic dechlorinating microorganisms in two PCB contaminated river sediments,” Abstracts of the 104^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Microbiology, New Orleans, LA, May 2004. Poster as PDF. Abstract as PDF.

Karcher*, S.C., Small, M.J., and VanBriesen, J.M. "Statistical method to evaluate the occurrence of PCB transformations in river sediments," presented at Technology Benchmarking Workshop for Sediment and Floodplain Remediation held at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan, March 25-26, 2004. Poster as PDF.

Yuan, Z., and VanBriesen, J.M. “Measuring cell yields on NTA, EDTA, and their biodegradation intermediates using batch reactors,” American Chemical Society Annual Meeting Abstracts, September 2003, New York, NY. Platform Presentation Slides as PDF. Short Abstract as PDF. Extended Abstract as PDF.

Rittmann, B.E., VanBriesen, J.M., Schwartz, A., “Modeling Coupled Biogeochemical Processes,” Association for Environmental Engineering and Science Professors Research and Education Conference, Meeting Abstracts, August 2002, Toronto, Canada. Poster as PDF.

Yuan, Z, and VanBriesen, J.M. “Analysis of intermediates of EDTA biodegradation by HPLC,” American Chemical Society Annual Meeting Abstracts, August 2002, Boston, MA. Short Abstract as PDF. Extended abstract as PDF. Poster as PDF.

VanBriesen, J.M. Rittmann, B.E. “Modeling Biogeochemical Interactions in Co-Contaminant Systems,” Abstract in Proceedings of the 220^th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, August 2000, Washington DC. Short Abstract as PDF. Extended abstract as PDF.