Dehalogenation. Microbial Processes and Environmental Applications

Halogenated organic compounds constitute one of the largest groups of environmental chemicals. The industrial production of new halogenated organic compounds has increased throughout the 20th century and these compounds are integral to a variety of industrial applications. Although organohalide compounds are typically considered to be anthropogenic industrial compounds, these have their counterpart in several thousands of natural biogenic and geogenic organohalides, representing most classes of organic chemicals. Natural sources account for a significant portion of the global organohalogen budget. This volume, authored by leading experts in the field, provides a perspective on how both natural and synthetic organohalides are formed and degraded, and how these processes are incorporated into a global halogen cycle. The list of organohalides that can be utilized by microbes continues to increase dramatically, as do the number of dehalogenating micro-organisms that have been identified and characterized.