Tetrachloroethene (PCE) is one of most found groundwater pollutants. Because it was denser than water and it would not mix with water easily, PCE was difficult to be removed from groundwater through traditional physical-chemical methods. Therefore, compost liquid was proposed as cheap alternative to commercial biological agents to improve the solubility and biodegradation of PCE. In this study, three compost samples: 3-month bagasse compost sample (B3), 6-month bagasse compost sample (B6), and 3-month bagasse compost/ kitchen waste mixed sample (M3) were examined for their biosurfactant property. In addition, B3 sample was selected to conduct column study to evaluate the effects of compost mass on the PCE remove efficiency. The experimental results showed that less matured sample had better biosurfactant property than more matured sample, and addition of kitchen waste would further enhance biosurfactant property. The results of column study showed that bagasse compost could dissolve more down-stream PCE when compared with bagasse sample, and the efficiency increased with increasing of compost mass. During 180 days of column study, sustainable amount of methane gas was detected in system, suggesting compost could be used as long-term electron donors to degrade PCE. The system remained at neutral pH throughout the experiment. Overall, compost contains moderate biosurfancant property and diverse microbial activity, and thus could serve as suitable media for dechlorinating groundwater PCE.

compost, reductive dechlorination, column study