Long term competition between sulfate-reducing and methane-producing bacteria for acetate in anaerobic biofilm

A long term competition between sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methane-producing bacteria (MPB) for acetate was investigated using a laboratory scale anaerobic fluidized bed. When the synthetic wastewater composed of acetate and sulfate was fed at a low organic loading rate, averages of the remaining acetate and sulfate concentrations were 1.7 mg Cl⁻¹ and 78.5 mg l⁻¹, respectively. During several months of this acetate limited operation the methane production rate as well as the microbial mass of MPB declined gradually, whereas the amount of reduced sulfate along with the microbial mass of SRB increased, which apparently indicates that SRB out-compete MPB in the biofilm at lower acetate concentrations. On the other hand, MPB were able to form a biofilm faster than SRB at higher acetate concentrations presumably due to MPB's higher ability to adhere carrier surfaces compared with SRB. Kinetic constants for both species in the biofilm were determined and compared with those reported for pure MPB and SRB cultures. Based on the kinetic mechanism of this competition, operational conditions which would support methanogenesis by suppressing sulfate reduction were identified.     

Biogeochemical factors influencing net mercury methylation in contaminated freshwater sediments from the St. Lawrence River in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada

The activity of various anaerobic microbes, including sulfate reducers (SRB), iron reducers (FeRP) and methanogens (MPA) has been linked to mercury methylation in aquatic systems, although the relative importance of each microbial group in the overall process is poorly understood in natural sediments. The present study focused on the biogeochemical factors (i.e. the relative importance of various groups of anaerobic microbes (FeRP, SRB, and MPA) that affect net monomethylmercury (MMHg) formation in contaminated sediments of the St. Lawrence River (SRL) near Cornwall (Zone 1), Ontario, Canada. Methylation and demethylation potentials were measured separately by using isotope-enriched mercury species (²⁰⁰Hg²⁺ and MM¹⁹⁹Hg⁺) in sediment microcosms treated with specific microbial inhibitors. Sediments were sampled and incubated in the dark at room temperature in an anaerobic chamber for 96 h. The potential methylation rate constants (K_m) and demethylation rates (K_d) were found to differ significantly between microcosms. The MPA-inhibited microcosm had the highest potential methylation rate constant (0.016 d⁻¹), whereas the two SRB-inhibited microcosms had comparable potential methylation rate constants (0.003 d⁻¹ and 0.002 d⁻¹, respectively). The inhibition of methanogens stimulated net methylation by inhibiting demethylationand by stimulating methylation along with SRB activity. The inhibition of both methanogens and SRB was found to enhance the iron reduction rates but did not completely stop MMHg production. The strong positive correlation between K_m and Sulfate Reduction Rates (SRR) and between K_d and Methane Production Rates (MPR) supports the involvement of SRB in Hg methylation and MPA in MMHg demethylation in the sediments. In contrast, the strong negative correlation between K_d and Iron Reduction Rates (FeRR) shows that the increase in FeRR corresponds to a decrease in demethylation, indicating that iron reduction may influence net methylation in the SLR sediments by decreasing demethylation rather than favouring methylation.     

Influence of mineral precipitation on the performance and long-term stability of Fe 0 -permeable reactive barriers: A review on the basis of 19 Fe 0 -reactive barrier sites

A comparative evaluation of the monitoring results from 19 Fe⁰-permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) is presented which considers changes of groundwater composition within the Fe⁰-PRBs, the type and distribution of mineral phases that precipitate, porosity reductions, extent of the load of inorganic groundwater constituents and the overall performance. The findings show that the changes in groundwater composition within the PRBs are extremely similar, independent of flow velocities, residence times, and concentrations of inorganic substances. In addition, the type and distribution of mineral precipitates do not show great variances with the largest mineral accumulations within the first 10 to 30 cm from the entrance face of the PRBs. From these comparisons it can be concluded that loads of dissolved inorganic species higher than 200 kg?·?a^–1?·?m^–2 limit the long-term performance of Fe⁰-PRBs up to a few years due to porosity losses caused by mineral precipitation, independent of the type of construction. Moreover, detailed calculations of porosity and hydraulic conductivity decreases of the PRBs at the Rheine and Tübingen sites show that the influence of mineral fouling on the hydraulic permeability of a PRB can only be estimated by accounting for the interaction between reduction in porosity, permeability and flow rate. The findings suggest that it is possible to pre-estimate the porosity and permeability development for a potential PRB.     

预应力厚层橡胶支座隔震性能研究

针对现有隔震支座的不足,在普通叠层橡胶隔震支座(RB)的基础上,适当增大橡胶层厚度,结合预应力原理,提出一种新型的预应力厚层橡胶隔震支座(PRB)。在模型试验的基础上,建立其隔震结构非线性分析模型,推导了其水平刚度计算解析公式,编制相应的分析程序,分析和研究其工作原理及力学性能;通过时程反应分析,研究了其隔震性能。研究结果表明：PRB是水平变刚度支座,刚度大小与支座的水平位移等有关;它除具有RB的水平隔震性能外,还具有良好的水平限位等性能,地震强度越大,水平限位性能越好。     

Effects of nitrite concentration and exposure time on sulfide and methane production in sewer systems

Nitrite dosing is a promising technology to prevent sulfide and methane formation in sewers, due to the known inhibitory/toxic effect of nitrite on sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogenic Archaea (MA). The dependency of nitrite-induced inhibition on sulfide and methane producing activities of anaerobic sewer biofilms on nitrite levels and exposure time is investigated using a range of nitrite concentrations (40, 80, 120 mg-N/L) and exposure time up to 24 days. The recovery of these activities after the 24-day nitrite dosage was also monitored for more than two months. The inhibition level was found to be dependent on both nitrite concentration and exposure time, with stronger inhibition observed at higher nitrite concentrations and/or longer exposure time. However, the time required for achieving 50% recovery of both sulfate-reducing and methanogenic activities after the cessation of nitrite dosage only marginally depended on nitrite concentration. Model-based analysis of the recovery data showed that the recovery was likely due to the regrowth of SRB and methanogens. The lab studies and mathematical analysis supported the development of an intermittent dosing strategy, which was tested in a 1-km long rising main sewer. The field trial confirmed that intermittent dosing of nitrite can effectively reduce/prevent the formation of both sulfide and methane.     

Lead removal from groundwater by granular mixtures of pumice,perlite and lime using permeable reactive barriers

Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) is an in situ technology for remediation of contaminated groundwater. This article presents results of studies on three granular mixtures were used for remediation of lead (Pb²⁺) contaminated groundwater using PRBs. The mixtures were composed of pumice, perlite and lime in different proportions. Several column experiments were conducted for evaluation of performance of the mixtures for lead removal. The experiments were carried out for over 50 days to evaluate the long‐term performance of the PRBs. It was found out that pumice‐perlite mixture with a weight proportion of 1 : 1 and pumice‐lime‐perlite mixture with a weight proportion of 2 : 2 : 1 can be used as effective reactive media for lead removal. The removal efficiency of the proposed mixtures was 99.9%. The permeability of the reactive media was relatively constant over 53 days continuous experiments and the results demonstrated that the mentioned mixtures have acceptable performance to maintain hydraulic conductivity of PRBs.     

Sulfate-reducing bacteria are common members of bacterial communities in Altamira Cave (Spain)

The conservation of paleolithic paintings such as those in Altamira Cave (Spain) is a primary objective. Recent molecular studies have shown the existence of unknown microbial communities in this cave including anaerobic microorganisms on cave walls. Herein, we analyzed an anaerobic microbial group, the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), from Altamira Cave with potential negative effects on painting conservation. In the present work, the communities of bacteria and SRB were studied through PCR-DGGE analysis. Data suggest that SRB communities represent a significant, highly diverse bacterial group in Altamira Cave. These findings represent a first report on this physiological group on caves with paleolithic paintings and their potential biodegradation consequences. Expanding our knowledge on microbial communities in Altamira Cave is a priority to design appropriate conservation strategies.     

Occurrence of methanogenesis during start-up of a full-scale synthesis gas-fed reactor treating sulfate and metal-rich wastewater

The start-up of a full-scale synthesis gas-fed gas-lift reactor treating metal and sulfate-rich wastewater was investigated. Sludge from a pilot-scale reactor was used to seed the full-scale reactor. The main difference in design between the pilot- and full-scale reactor was that metal precipitation and sulfate reduction occurred in the same reactor. After 7 weeks the full-scale reactor achieved the sulfate conversion design rate of 15 kg/m3day. Zinc sulfide precipitation inside the reactor did not interfere with obtaining a high rate of sulfate reduction. 16S rRNA gene analysis demonstrated that the bacterial communities in both reactors were dominated by the sulfate-reducing genus Desulfomicrobium. Archaeal communities of both reactors were dominated by the methanogenic genus Methanobacterium. Most Probable Number (MPN) counts confirmed that heterotrophic Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria (SRB) were dominant (10(11) -10(12) cells/g VSS) compared to homoacetogens (10(5) -10(6) cells/g VSS) and methanogens (10(8) -10(9) cells/g VSS). Methanogenesis was not suppressed during start-up of the full scale-reactor, despite the predominance of SRB, which have a lower hydrogen threshold. Due to the short sludge retention time (4-7 days) competition for hydrogen is determined by Monod kinetics, not hydrogen thresholds. As the kinetic parameters for SRB and methanogens are similar, methanogenesis may persist which results in a loss of hydrogen.     

Impact of nitrate addition on biofilm properties and activities in rising main sewers

Anaerobic sewer biofilm is a composite of many different microbial populations, including sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), methanogens and heterotrophic bacteria. Nitrate addition to sewers in an attempt to control hydrogen sulfide concentrations affects the behaviour of these populations, which in turn impacts on wastewater characteristics. Experiments were carried out on a laboratory reactor system simulating a rising main to determine the impact of nitrate addition on the microbial activities of anaerobic sewer biofilm. Nitrate was added to the start of the rising main during sewage pump cycles at a concentration of 30 mg-N L⁻¹ for over 5 months. While it reduced sulfide levels at the outlet of the system by 66%, nitrate was not toxic or inhibitory to SRB activity and did not affect the dominant SRB populations in the biofilm. Long-term nitrate addition in fact stimulated additional SRB activity in downstream biofilm. Nitrate addition also stimulated the activity of nitrate reducing, sulfide oxidizing bacteria that appeared to be primarily responsible for the prevention of sulfide build up in the wastewater in the presence of nitrate. A short adaptation period of three to four nitrate exposure events (approximately 10 h) was required to stimulate biological sulfide oxidation, beyond which no sulfide accumulation was observed under anoxic conditions. Nitrate addition effectively controlled methane concentrations in the wastewater. The nitrate uptake rate of the biofilm increased with repeated exposure to nitrate, which in turn increased the consumption of biodegradable COD in the wastewater. These results provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of nitrate addition on wastewater composition and sewer biofilm microbial activities, which will facilitate optimization of nitrate dosing for effective sulfide control in rising main sewers.     

Toxicity of fluoride to microorganisms in biological wastewater treatment systems

Fluoride is a common contaminant in a variety of industrial wastewaters. Available information on the potential toxicity of fluoride to microorganisms implicated in biological wastewater treatment is very limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inhibitory effect of fluoride towards the main microbial populations responsible for the removal of organic constituents and nutrients in wastewater treatment processes. The results of short-term batch bioassays indicated that the toxicity of sodium fluoride varied widely depending on the microbial population. Anaerobic microorganisms involved in various metabolic steps of anaerobic digestion processes were found to be very sensitive to the presence of fluoride. The concentrations of fluoride causing 50% metabolic inhibition (IC₅₀) of propionate- and butyrate-degrading microorganisms as well as mesophilic and thermophilic acetate-utilizing methanogens ranged from 18 to 43 mg/L. Fluoride was also inhibitory to nitrification, albeit at relatively high levels (IC₅₀ = 149 mg/L). Nitrifying bacteria appeared to adapt rapidly to fluoride, and a near complete recovery of their metabolic activity was observed after only 4 d of exposure to high fluoride levels (up to 500 mg/L). All other microbial populations evaluated in this study, i.e., glucose fermenters, aerobic glucose-degrading heterotrophs, denitrifying bacteria, and H₂-utilizing methanogens, tolerated fluoride at very high concentrations (>500 mg/L).