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Volume 13
Issue 8
10.3390/toxics13080704
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Biodegradation of Carbon Tetrachloride in Groundwater: Microbial Community Shifts and Functional Genes Involvement in Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination

by
Zhengwei Liu
1,2,
Mingbo Sun
1,2,
Wei Wang
1,2,
Shaolei Zhao
1,2,
Yan Xie
1,2,
Xiaoyu Lin
1,2,
Jingru Liu
1,2 and
Shucai Zhang
1,2,*
1
State Key Laboratory of Chemical Safety, Qingdao 266061, China
2
SINOPEC Research Institute of Safety Engineering Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266061, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Toxics 2025, 13(8), 704; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13080704
Submission received: 25 July 2025 / Revised: 14 August 2025 / Accepted: 19 August 2025 / Published: 21 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Remediation of Environmental Pollutants in Soil-Water System)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Carbon tetrachloride (CT) is a toxic volatile chlorinated hydrocarbon, posing a serious hazard to ecosystem and human health. This study discussed the bioremediation possibility of groundwater contaminated by CT. Enhanced reductive dechlorination bioremediation (ERD) was used to promote the reductive dechlorination process of CT by adding yeast extract as a supplementary electron donor. The microcosm samples of the Control and Experi group were setup in the experiment, and the CT degradation efficiency and microbial community structure changes over 150 days were monitored. The results showed that the Experi group achieved complete degradation of CT within 40 days, while the control group had no significant change. By analyzing the physical and chemical indexes such as VFAs, sulfate ions, oxidation–reduction potential, pH value and so on, the key changes in the degradation process of CT were revealed. Microbial community analysis showed that specific microorganisms such as Acinetobacter johnsonii, Aeromonas media and Enterobacter Mori played a significant role in the degradation of CT. They may produce hydrogen through fermentation to provide electron donors for the reductive dechlorination of CT. In addition, the genes of reductive dehalogenase synthase related to CT degradation were also identified, which provided molecular evidence for understanding the biodegradation mechanism of CT. The results deliver a scientific basis for optimizing the bioremediation strategy of CT-contaminated groundwater.
Keywords: carbon tetrachloride; bioremediation; reductive dechlorination; microbial community; groundwater contamination carbon tetrachloride; bioremediation; reductive dechlorination; microbial community; groundwater contamination

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Liu, Z.; Sun, M.; Wang, W.; Zhao, S.; Xie, Y.; Lin, X.; Liu, J.; Zhang, S. Biodegradation of Carbon Tetrachloride in Groundwater: Microbial Community Shifts and Functional Genes Involvement in Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination. Toxics 2025, 13, 704. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13080704

AMA Style

Liu Z, Sun M, Wang W, Zhao S, Xie Y, Lin X, Liu J, Zhang S. Biodegradation of Carbon Tetrachloride in Groundwater: Microbial Community Shifts and Functional Genes Involvement in Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination. Toxics. 2025; 13(8):704. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13080704

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Zhengwei, Mingbo Sun, Wei Wang, Shaolei Zhao, Yan Xie, Xiaoyu Lin, Jingru Liu, and Shucai Zhang. 2025. "Biodegradation of Carbon Tetrachloride in Groundwater: Microbial Community Shifts and Functional Genes Involvement in Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination" Toxics 13, no. 8: 704. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13080704

APA Style

Liu, Z., Sun, M., Wang, W., Zhao, S., Xie, Y., Lin, X., Liu, J., & Zhang, S. (2025). Biodegradation of Carbon Tetrachloride in Groundwater: Microbial Community Shifts and Functional Genes Involvement in Enhanced Reductive Dechlorination. Toxics, 13(8), 704. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13080704

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