Dehalogenation of xenobiotics as a consequence of binding to humic materials

Chlorinated phenols and anilines were transformed by oxidoreductive catalysts with release of chloride ions in both the absence and the presence of humic substances (syringaldehyde, catechol, and humic acid). Dehalogenation of these xenobiotics resulted from oxidative coupling reactions occurring at the chlorinated sites of the substrates. The effect of humic substances on dehalogenation depended on the mechanism of oxidative coupling. In a free-radical reaction mediated by peroxidase, laccase, or birnessite (delta-MnO2), syringaldehyde enhanced the dehalogenation of most of the chlorinated phenols, but it did not enhance the dehalogenation of the chloroanilines. With catechol, which does not form free radicals, dehalogenation was reduced or remained the same for both the chlorophenols and the chloroanilines. However, in tyrosinase-mediated reactions controlled by nucleophilic addition, catechol enhanced the dehalogenation of most of the chlorophenols, whereas syringaldehyde had little effect. Humic acid in most cases enhanced the dehalogenation of the chlorophenols, but it had little effect on the dehalogenation of the chloroanilines. On a molar basis, changes in dehalogenation caused by humic substances were proportional to the respective changes in substrate transformation. Only syringaldehyde was capable of releasing disproportionately high amounts of chloride ions from chlorophenols, apparently as a result of multiple crosscouplings to one molecule of the substrate.