Thermodynamically controlled biokinetics modelling of a lindane-degrading anaerobic enrichment culture
- 1University of Toronto
Abstract
The anaerobic biotransformation of lindane ({gamma}-hexachlorocyclohexane), a persistent legacy pesticide and challenging subsurface contaminant was modelled using an integrated Monod biokinetics framework. Calibrated against batch experimental data, this model accounted for the dissolution of solid phase lindane and the thermodynamics of reactions involved. The study focused on a methanogenic, lindane-degrading enrichment culture (GT2) that used ethanol as the electron donor, where ethanol fermentation supplied hydrogen to support reductive dechlorination of lindane. A Dehalobacter strain was identified as the lindane-degrading organism, while a member of bacterial order Geobacterales carried out ethanol fermentation. First-order decay constants for lindane-degrading Dehalobacter were estimated from experimental data and showed variation across different growth conditions. The biokinetics model captured interactions among key microbial processes, namely lindane dechlorination, ethanol fermentation, hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, and acetoclastic methanogenesis. Thirteen biokinetics parameters including maximum substrate utilization rates (k), half-velocity constants (Ks), and decay constants for these microbial processes were estimated through a Bayesian optimization approach. Global sensitivity analysis showed that eight parameters, primarily k and Ks, had significant linear impact on the model output, whereas responses to decay constants were more variable and potentially non-linear. This study proposed an effective modelling approach for characterizing syntrophic microbial growth within enrichment cultures and provides valuable biokinetics parameters estimates for real-world applications of anaerobic lindane bioremediation.
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BibTeX
@misc{liang2026thermodynamically,
title = {{Thermodynamically controlled biokinetics modelling of a lindane-degrading anaerobic enrichment culture}},
author = {J. Liang and L. Lomheim and L. Puentes Jacome and E. A. Edwards and B. E. Sleep},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.01.755988},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.755988v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Thermodynamically controlled biokinetics modelling of a lindane-degrading anaerobic enrichment culture
AU - J. Liang
AU - L. Lomheim
AU - L. Puentes Jacome
AU - E. A. Edwards
AU - B. E. Sleep
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.01.755988
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.01.755988v1
AB - The anaerobic biotransformation of lindane ({gamma}-hexachlorocyclohexane), a persistent legacy pesticide and challenging subsurface contaminant was modelled using an integrated Monod biokinetics framework. Calibrated against batch experimental data, this model accounted for the dissolution of solid phase lindane and the thermodynamics of reactions involved. The study focused on a methanogenic, lindane-degrading enrichment culture (GT2) that used ethanol as the electron donor, where ethanol fermentation supplied hydrogen to support reductive dechlorination of lindane. A Dehalobacter strain was identified as the lindane-degrading organism, while a member of bacterial order Geobacterales carried out ethanol fermentation. First-order decay constants for lindane-degrading Dehalobacter were estimated from experimental data and showed variation across different growth conditions. The biokinetics model captured interactions among key microbial processes, namely lindane dechlorination, ethanol fermentation, hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, and acetoclastic methanogenesis. Thirteen biokinetics parameters including maximum substrate utilization rates (k), half-velocity constants (Ks), and decay constants for these microbial processes were estimated through a Bayesian optimization approach. Global sensitivity analysis showed that eight parameters, primarily k and Ks, had significant linear impact on the model output, whereas responses to decay constants were more variable and potentially non-linear. This study proposed an effective modelling approach for characterizing syntrophic microbial growth within enrichment cultures and provides valuable biokinetics parameters estimates for real-world applications of anaerobic lindane bioremediation.
ER -