INHIBITION OF METHANE PRODUCTION DURING ANAEROBIC REDUCTIVE DECHLORINATION

On December 29th, 2015, the United States Patent Office issued US Patent 9,221,699 to Innovative Environmental Technologies, Inc. (IET).  Until now, the remediation industry has accepted the competition for hydrogen in the biotic reductive dechlorination processes and in any use of zero valent iron (ZVI) for abiotic treatment of chlorinated solvents.  With the issuance of US Patent 9,221,699 the industry now has available to them a method to specifically target and inhibit the F420 enzyme system in methanogens!

Why is this a significant?

1. Methanogenic bacteria compete with reductive dechlorinating bacteria for free hydrogen.
2. The conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methane “steals” four moles of hydrogen that otherwise could have been used in the reductive dechlorination process.                                                                               CO₂ + 4 H₂ → CH₄ + 2H₂O
3. Conversion of Carbon Dioxide to Methane reduces the buffering capacity of the bulk water solution.
4. Acetotrophic Methanogens compete for fermentation substrates otherwise emplaced in the subsurface for the stimulation of reductive dechlorination processes.                                                   CH₃COO⁻ + H⁺ → CH₄ + CO₂
5. During the early stages of an ISCR program, where excessive hydrogen is produced as a result of the ZVI corrosion, managing methanogen growth is imperative for the successful colonization of the environment by cultures capable of performing reductive dechlorination processes.

For link to full issued Patent (Patent US 9,221,699 )