Biotechnological aspects of sulfate reduction with methane as electron donor

Biological sulfate reduction can be used for the removal and recovery of oxidized sulfur compounds and metals from waste streams. However, the costs of conventional electron donors, like hydrogen and ethanol, limit the application possibilities. Methane from natural gas or biogas would be a more attractive electron donor. Sulfate reduction with methane as electron donor prevails in marine sediments. Recently, several authors succeeded in cultivating the responsible microorganisms in vitro. In addition, the process has been studied in bioreactors. These studies have opened up the possibility to use methane as electron donor for sulfate reduction in wastewater and gas treatment. However, the obtained growth rates of the responsible microorganisms are extremely low, which would be a major limitation for applications. Therefore, further research should focus on novel cultivation technique

Bioaugmentation of UASB reactors with immobilized Sulfurospirillum barnesii for simultaneous selenate and nitrate removal

Whole-cell immobilization of selenate-respiring Sulfurospirillum barnesii in polyacrylamide gels was investigated to allow the treatment of selenate contaminated (790¿µg Se¿×¿L-1) synthetic wastewater with a high molar excess of nitrate (1,500 times) and sulfate (200 times). Gel-immobilized S. barnesii cells were used to inoculate a mesophilic (30°C) bioreactor fed with lactate as electron donor at an organic loading rate of 5 g chemical oxygen demand (COD)¿×¿L-1 day-1. Selenate was reduced efficiently (>97%) in the nitrate and sulfate fed bioreactor, and a minimal effluent concentration of 39¿µg Se¿×¿L-1 was obtained. Scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray (SEM–EDX) analysis revealed spherical bioprecipitates of =2¿µm diameter mostly on the gel surface, consisting of selenium with a minor contribution of sulfur. To validate the bioaugmentation success under microbial competition, gel cubes with immobilized S. barnesii cells were added to an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) reactor, resulting in earlier selenate (24 hydraulic retention times (HRTs)) and sulfate (44 HRTs) removal and higher nitrate/nitrite removal efficiencies compared to a non-bioaugmented control reactor. S. barnesii was efficiently immobilized inside the UASB bioreactors as the selenate-reducing activity was maintained during long-term operation (58 days), and molecular analysis showed that S. barnesii was present in both the sludge bed and the effluent. This demonstrates that gel immobilization of specialized bacterial strains can supersede wash-out and out-competition of newly introduced strains in continuous bioaugmented systems. Eventually, proliferation of a selenium-respiring specialist occurred in the non-bioaugmented control reactor, resulting in simultaneous nitrate and selenate removal during a later phase of operatio

Cobalt toxicity in anaerobic granular sludge: influence of chemical speciation

The influence of cobalt speciation on the toxicity of cobalt to methylotrophic methanogenesis in anaerobic granular sludge was investigated. The cobalt speciation was studied with three different media that contained varying concentrations of complexing ligands [carbonates, phosphates and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)]. Three fractions (nominal added, dissolved and free) of cobalt were determined in the liquid media and were correlated with data from batch toxicity experiments. The average concentration of cobalt that was required for 50% inhibition of methanogenic activity (IC50) for free Co2+ in the three sets of measurements was 13 mu mol/L with a standard deviation of 22% and a similarity of 72% between the data obtained in the three different media for the range of cobalt concentrations investigated. The standard deviation of the IC50 for the other two fractions was much higher, i.e. 85 and 144% for the added cobalt and dissolved cobalt, respectively, and the similarity was almost 0% for both fractions. Complexation (and precipitation) with EDTA, phosphates and carbonates was shown to decrease the toxicity of cobalt on methylotrophic methanogenesis. The free cobalt concentration is proposed to be the key parameter to correlate with cobalt toxicity. Thus, the toxicity of cobalt to granular sludge can be estimated based on the equilibrium-free cobalt concentration

On-line estimation of the dissolved zinc concentration during ZnS precipitation in a CSTR

Abstract In this paper a method is presented to estimate the reaction term of zinc sulphide precipitation and the zinc concentration in a CSTR, using the read-out signal of a sulphide selective electrode. The reaction between zinc and sulphide is described by a non-linear model and therefore classical observer theory cannot be applied directly, as this theory was initially developed for linear systems. However, by linear reparametrization of this nonlinear system, the linear observer theory can be applied in an effective way. This is illustrated by a zinc sulphide example using real data

Influence of pH shocks on trace netal dynamics and performance of methanol fed granular sludge bioreactors

The influence of pH shocks on the trace metal dynamics and performance of methanol fed upflow anaerobic granular sludge bed (UASB) reactors was investigated. For this purpose, two UASB reactors were operated with metal pre-loaded granular sludge (1mM Co, Ni and Fe; 30°C; 96h) at an organic loading rate (OLR) of 5gCOD l reactor-1d-1. One UASB reactor (R1) was inoculated with sludge that originated from a full scale reactor treating alcohol distillery wastewater, while the other reactor (R2) was inoculated with sludge from a full scale reactor treating paper mill wastewater. A 30h pH shock (pH 5) strongly affected the metal retention dynamics within the granular sludge bed in both reactors. Iron losses in soluble form with the effluent were considerable: 2.3 and 2.9% for R1 and R2, respectively, based on initial iron content in the reactors, while losses of cobalt and nickel in soluble form were limited. Sequential extraction of the metals from the sludge showed that cobalt, nickel, iron and sulfur were translocated from the residual to the organic/sulfide fraction during the pH shock in R2, increasing 34, 47, 109 and 41% in the organic/sulfide fraction, respectively. This is likely due to the modification of the iron sulfide precipitate stability, which influences the extractability of iron and trace metals. Such a translocation was not observed for the R1 sludge during the first 30h pH shock, but a second 4day pH shock induced significant losses of cobalt (18%), iron (29%) and sulfur (29%) from the organic/sulfide fraction, likely due to iron sulfide dissolution and concomitant release of cobalt. After the 30h pH shock, VFA accumulated in the R2 effluent, whereas both VFA and methanol accumulated in R1 after the 4day pH shock. The formed VFA, mainly acetate, were not converted to methane due to the loss of methanogenic activity of the sludge on acetate. The VFA accumulation gradually disappeared, which is likely to be related to out-competition of acetogens by methanogens. Zinc, copper and manganese supply did not have a clear effect on the acetate removal and methanol conversion, but zinc may have induced the onset of methanol degradation after day 152 in R1

A comparison of fate and toxicity of selenite, biogenically, and chemically synthesized selenium nanoparticles to zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryogenesis

Conservation Biolog

Desulfotomaculum carboxydivorans sp.nov., a novel sulfate-reducing bacterium capable of growth at 100% CO

A moderately thermophilic, anaerobic, chemolithoheterotrophic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, strain CO-1-SRBT, was isolated from sludge from an anaerobic bioreactor treating paper mill wastewater. Cells were Gram-positive, motile, spore-forming rods. The temperature range for growth was 30¿68 °C, with an optimum at 55 °C. The NaCl concentration range for growth was 0¿17 g l¿1; there was no change in growth rate until the NaCl concentration reached 8 g l¿1. The pH range for growth was 6·0¿8·0, with an optimum of 6·8¿7·2. The bacterium could grow with 100 % CO in the gas phase. With sulfate, CO was converted to H2 and CO2 and part of the H2 was used for sulfate reduction; without sulfate, CO was completely converted to H2 and CO2. With sulfate, strain CO-1-SRBT utilized H2/CO2, pyruvate, glucose, fructose, maltose, lactate, serine, alanine, ethanol and glycerol. The strain fermented pyruvate, lactate, glucose and fructose. Yeast extract was necessary for growth. Sulfate, thiosulfate and sulfite were used as electron acceptors, whereas elemental sulfur and nitrate were not. A phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences placed strain CO-1-SRBT in the genus Desulfotomaculum, closely resembling Desulfotomaculum nigrificans DSM 574T and Desulfotomaculum sp. RHT-3 (99 and 100 % similarity, respectively). However, the latter strains were completely inhibited above 20 and 50 % CO in the gas phase, respectively, and were unable to ferment CO, lactate or glucose in the absence of sulfate. DNA¿DNA hybridization of strain CO-1-SRBT with D. nigrificans and Desulfotomaculum sp. RHT-3 showed 53 and 60 % relatedness, respectively. On the basis of phylogenetic and physiological features, it is suggested that strain CO-1-SRBT represents a novel species within the genus Desulfotomaculum, for which the name Desulfotomaculum carboxydivorans is proposed. This is the first description of a sulfate-reducing micro-organism that is capable of growth under an atmosphere of pure CO with and without sulfate. The type strain is CO-1-SRBT (=DSM 14880T=VKM B-2319T