Changes of the carbon isotopic composition of trichloroethylene during aerobic biodegradation: a new tool to estimate removal efficiencies

Trichloroethylene (TCE) was degraded aerobically with the strain Burkholderia cepacia G4. The degradation leveled out after ~ 40 hours, while the removal efficiency depended on the optical cell density (OD₅₄₀). During the experiment at an OD₅₄₀ of 0.8, TCE was degraded up to 59.3 %, with an isotopic difference between initial and remaining substrate of 12.3 ‰. At a lower OD₅₄₀ of 0.5 the amount of TCE degraded was only 40.5 % and the δ¹³C_TCE difference between initial and remaining substrate was 10.5 ‰.