The Biological Processes of Chloride Ions Removal from the Environment

Abstract

Chlorine is one of the macronutrients commonly found in nature. The natural cycle of this element can be destabilized by human activities and causes negative effects in the environment. To come back into a natural balance, various biological processes of water and soil remediation have been investigated. The purpose of the presented research focused on two chlorine conversion processes: (1) anaerobic dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in transformer oil provided by consortia of microorganisms originating from a wastewater sedimentation tank and (2) chloride elimination from aquatic environments by commercial mixtures of microorganisms in aerobic conditions. Dechlorination allowed the conversion PCB molecules to less-toxic compounds and significantly influenced contamination in the range of 15 to 76%. In the second process, the decrease in chloride ions did not exceed 14%. Both the consortia of microorganisms and biological commercial mixtures used in this study were able to decrease the chloride ion concentration in the investigated aquatic solution.