Martijn F.M. Bijmans

Sulfate reduction at low pH to remediate acid mine drainage.

Industrial activities and the natural oxidation of metallic sulfide-ores produce sulfate-rich waters with low pH and high heavy metals content, generally termed acid mine drainage (AMD). This is of great environmental concern as some heavy metals are highly toxic. Within a number of possibilities, biological treatment applying sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is an attractive option to treat AMD and to recover metals. The process produces alkalinity, neutralizing the AMD simultaneously. The sulfide that is produced reacts with the metal in solution and precipitates them as metal sulfides. Here, important factors for biotechnological application of SRB such as the inocula, the pH of the process, the substrates and the reactor design are discussed. Microbial communities of sulfidogenic reactors treating AMD which comprise fermentative-, acetogenic- and SRB as well as methanogenic archaea are reviewed.

A pneumatically agitated flat-panel photobioreactor with gas re-circulation: anaerobic photoheterotrophic cultivation of a purple non-sulfur bacterium

The application of hydrogen as a clean and efficient energy carrier in the near future becomes more and more evident. Within the process of photobiological hydrogen production, purple non-sulfur bacteria are an interesting subject of study because of their high hydrogen producing capacity. In a previous study, the used Rhodopseudomonas sp. had proven to efficiently produce hydrogen from acetic acid and light energy. We constructed a pneumatically agitated flat-panel photobioreactor as a model system for optimization of photoheterotrophic hydrogen production. Batch experiments and a chemostat experiment were performed to investigate the proper functioning of the new photobioreactor. During the first experiments, argon gas was sparged through the system for mixing and inhibition of growth was observed. Experimental results indicate that the stripping of carbon dioxide from the culture liquid caused this inhibition of growth. Possibly, the Rhodopseudomonas sp. used requires carbon dioxide during growth on a highly reduced substrate like acetate. Recirculating the gas prevented the carbon dioxide from being stripped from the system. In this mode of operation, growth was supported.

Selective recovery of nickel over iron from a nickel-iron solution using microbial sulfate reduction in a gas-lift bioreactor.

Process streams with high concentrations of metals and sulfate are characteristic for the mining and metallurgical industries. This study aims to selectively recover nickel from a nickel-iron-containing solution at pH 5.0 using a single stage bioreactor that simultaneously combines low pH sulfate reduction and metal-sulfide formation. The results show that nickel was selectively precipitated in the bioreactor at pH 5.0 and the precipitates consisted of >or=83% of the nickel content. The nickel-iron precipitates were partly crystalline and had a metal/sulfur ratio of 1, suggesting these precipitates were NiS and FeS. Experiments focusing on nickel recovery at pH 5.0 and 5.5 reached a recovery of >99.9%, resulting in a nickel effluent concentration<0.05 microM. The mixed microbial population included known sulfate reducers and acetogens. This study shows that selective metal precipitation in a single stage sulfate reducing bioreactor operated at low pH has the potential to produce metal-sulfides that can be used by the metallurgical industry as a resource for metal production.

High rate sulfate reduction at pH 6 in a pH-auxostat submerged membrane bioreactor fed with formate

Many industrial waste and process waters contain high concentrations of sulfate, which can be removed by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). This paper reports on mesophilic (30 degrees C) sulfate reduction at pH 6 with formate as electron donor in a membrane bioreactor with a pH-auxostat dosing system. A mixed microbial community from full-scale industrial wastewater treatment bioreactors operated at pH 7 was used as inoculum. The pH-auxostat enabled the bacteria to convert sulfate at a volumetric activity of 302 mmol sulfate reduced per liter per day and a specific activity of 110 mmol sulfate reduced per gram volatile suspended solids per day. Biomass grew in 15 days from 0.2 to 4 g volatile suspended solids per liter. This study shows that it is possible to reduce sulfate at pH 6 with formate as electron donor at a high volumetric and specific activity with inocula from full-scale industrial wastewater treatment bioreactors operated at neutral pH. The combination of a membrane bioreactor and a pH-auxostat is a useful research tool to study processes with unknown growth rates at maximum activities.

Sulfate reduction at pH 4.0 for treatment of process and wastewaters

Acidic industrial process and wastewaters often contain high sulfate and metal concentrations and their direct biological treatment is thus far not possible as biological processes at pH < 5 have been neglected. Sulfate‐reducing bacteria convert sulfate to sulfide that can subsequently be used to recover metals as metal‐sulfides precipitate. This study reports on high‐rate sulfate reduction with a mixed microbial community at pH 4.0 and 4.5 with hydrogen and/or formate as electron donors. The maximum sulfate reducing activity at pH 4.0 was sustained for over 40 days with a specific activity 500‐fold greater than previously reported values: 151 mmol sulfate reduced/L reactor liquid per day with a maximum specific activity of 84 mmol sulfate per gram of volatile suspended solids per day. The biomass yield gradually decreased from 38 to 0.4 g volatile suspended solids per kilogram of sulfate when decreasing the reactor pH from pH 6 to 4. The microorganisms had a high maintenance requirement probably due maintaining pH homeostasis and the toxicity of sulfide at low pH. The microbial community diversity in the pH 4.0 membrane bioreactor decreased over time, while the diversity of the sulfate reducing community increased. Thus, a specialized microbial community containing a lower proportion of microorganisms capable of activity at pH 4 developed in the reactor compared with those present at the start of the experiment. The 16S rRNA genes identified from the pH 4.0 grown mixed culture were most similar to those of Desulfovibrio species and Desulfosporosinus sp. M1.

Electricity generation from an inorganic sulfur compound containing mining wastewater by acidophilic microorganisms.

Sulfide mineral processing often produces large quantities of wastewaters containing acid-generating inorganic sulfur compounds. If released untreated, these wastewaters can cause catastrophic environmental damage. In this study, microbial fuel cells were inoculated with acidophilic microorganisms to investigate whether inorganic sulfur compound oxidation can generate an electrical current. Cyclic voltammetry suggested that acidophilic microorganisms mediated electron transfer to the anode, and that electricity generation was catalyzed by microorganisms. A cation exchange membrane microbial fuel cell, fed with artificial wastewater containing tetrathionate as electron donor, reached a maximum whole cell voltage of 72 ± 9 mV. Stepwise replacement of the artificial anolyte with real mining process wastewater had no adverse effect on bioelectrochemical performance and generated a maximum voltage of 105 ± 42 mV. 16S rRNA gene sequencing of the microbial consortia resulted in sequences that aligned within the genera Thermoplasma, Ferroplasma, Leptospirillum, Sulfobacillus and Acidithiobacillus. This study opens up possibilities to bioremediate mining wastewater using microbial fuel cell technology.

Quantification of individual polysulfides in lab-scale and full-scale desulfurisation bioreactors

Environmental context Emission into the atmosphere of gaseous streams containing sulfur compounds, such as H2S and SOx, will lead to the unwanted formation of acid rain. In order to prevent this, biological processes can be employed to treat sulfur-containing gas streams. In this study, we describe a way to investigate the speciation of polysulfide anions in biodesulfurisation systems, which might enable further understanding and development of these processes. Abstract Environmental pollution caused by the combustion of fuel sources containing inorganic and organic sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and thiols, is a global issue as it leads to SO2 emissions. To remove H2S from gas streams such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biological processes can be applied. In these processes, polysulfide anions (Sx2–) play a significant role as they enhance the dissolution of H2S and act as intermediates in the biological oxidation of hydrogen sulfide ions to elemental sulfur. Despite their important role, the distribution of the various polysulfide species in full-scale biodesulfurisation systems has not yet been reported. With conventionally applied spectrophotometric analysis it is only possible to determine the total concentration of Sx2–. Moreover, this method is very sensitive to matrix effects. In this paper, we apply a method that relies on the derivatisation of Sx2– to dimethyl polysulfanes. Owing to the instability of higher dimethyl polysulfanes (Me2S4 to Me2S8), standards are not commercially available and had to be prepared by us. We present a simplified quantification method for higher dimethyl polysulfanes by calculating high performance liquid chromatogaphy (HPLC) UV response factors based on the addition of internal standards. The method was subsequently used to assess the distribution of polysulfide anions in both a laboratory-scale and a full-scale biodesulfurisation unit. We found that the average chain length of polysulfides strongly depends on the process conditions and a maximum of 5.33 sulfur atoms per polysulfide molecule was measured. Results of this study are required by mechanistic and kinetic models that attempt to describe product selectivity of sulfide oxidising bioreactors.

Ecology and application of haloalkaliphilic anaerobic microbial communities.

Haloalkaliphilic microorganisms that grow optimally at high-pH and high-salinity conditions can be found in natural environments such as soda lakes. These globally spread lakes harbour interesting anaerobic microorganisms that have the potential of being applied in existing technologies or create new opportunities. In this review, we discuss the potential application of haloalkaliphilic anaerobic microbial communities in the fermentation of lignocellulosic feedstocks material subjected to an alkaline pre-treatment, methane production and sulfur removal technology. Also, the general advantages of operation at haloalkaline conditions, such as low volatile fatty acid and sulfide toxicity, are addressed. Finally, an outlook into the main challenges like ammonia toxicity and lack of aggregation is provided.

Effect of Methanethiol Concentration on Sulfur Production in Biological Desulfurization Systems under Haloalkaline Conditions

Bioremoval of H2S from gas streams became popular in recent years because of high process efficiency and low operational costs. To expand the scope of these processes to gas streams containing volatile organic sulfur compounds, like thiols, it is necessary to provide new insights into their impact on overall biodesulfurization process. Published data on the effect of thiols on biodesulfurization processes are scarce. In this study, we investigated the effect of methanethiol on the selectivity for sulfur production in a bioreactor integrated with a gas absorber. This is the first time that the inhibition of biological sulfur formation by methanethiol is investigated. In our reactor system, inhibition of sulfur production started to occur at a methanethiol loading rate of 0.3 mmol L(-1) d(-1). The experimental results were also described by a mathematical model that includes recent findings on the mode of biomass inhibition by methanethiol. We also found that the negative effect of methanethiol can be mitigated by lowering the salinity of the bioreactor medium. Furthermore, we developed a novel approach to measure the biological activity by sulfide measurements using UV-spectrophotometry. On the basis of this measurement method, it is possible to accurately estimate the unknown kinetic parameters in the mathematical model.

Inhibition of a biological sulfide oxidation under haloalkaline conditions by thiols and diorgano polysulfanes

A novel approach has been developed for the simultaneous description of reaction kinetics to describe the formation of polysulfide and sulfate anions from the biological oxidation of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) using a quick, sulfide-dependent respiration test. Next to H2S, thiols are commonly present in sour gas streams. We investigated the inhibition mode and the corresponding inhibition constants of six thiols and the corresponding diorgano polysulfanes on the biological oxidation of H2S. A linear relationship was found between the calculated IC50 values and the lipophilicity of the inhibitors. Moreover, a mathematical model was proposed to estimate the biomass activity in the absence and presence of sulfurous inhibitors. The biomass used in the respiration tests originated from a full-scale biodesulfurization reactor. A microbial community analysis of this biomass revealed that two groups of microorganism are abundant, viz. Ectothiorhodospiraceae and Piscirickettsiaceae.