ANAEROBIC DECHLORINATION DEGRADATION OF CHLORINATED ORGANIC-COMPOUNDS OF DIFFERENT MOLECULAR MASSES IN BLEACH PLANT EFFLUENTS

Anaerobic dechlorination/degradation of high molecular mass material in bleach plant effluent was investigated in different systems. A decrease in organically bound chlorine, measured as adsorbable organic halogen (AOX), was found with all molecular mass fractions. The rate and extent of dechlorination and degradation of soluble AOX decreased with increasing molecular mass. Part of the dechlorination appears to be dependent on readily degradable carbon sources. The possibility that degradation is a combination of chemical depolymerization or desorption of small molecules followed by their biological degradation cannot be excluded. In our experiments, the rate of dechlorination of high molecular mass material proceeded too slowly to be of any practical use in effluent treatment. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.