Abstract
The copper industry utilizes significant amounts of sulfuric acid in its processes, generating sulfate as waste. While sulfate-reducing bacteria can remove sulfate, it produces hydrogen sulfide (H2S) as a byproduct. This study examined the capability of a consortium consisting of Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and Sulfobacillus acidophilus to partially oxidize H2S to S° at a temperature of 45 °C. A fixed-bed bioreactor, with glass rings as support material and sodium thiosulfate as a model electron donor, was inoculated with the consortium. Formation of biofilms was crucial to maintain the bioreactor’s steady state, despite high flow rates. Afterward, the electron donor was changed to H2S. When the bioreactor was operated continuously and with high aeration, H2S was fully oxidized to SO42−. However, under conditions of low aeration and at a concentration of 0.26 g/L of H2S, the consortium was able to oxidize H2S to S° with a 13% yield. S° was discovered attached to the glass rings and jarosite. The results indicate that the consortium could oxidize H2S to S° with a 13% yield under low aeration and at a concentration of 0.26 g/L of H2S. The findings highlight the capability of a Sulfobacillus consortium to convert H2S into S°, providing a potential solution for addressing environmental and safety issues associated with sulfate waste generated by the mining industry.
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Data availability
Authors agree to make the data available upon reasonable request. The raw sequence involved in this study was deposited in the SRA database under the Accession Number PRJNA745216.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dra. Blanca Escobar, Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas, Universidad de Chile, for donating the cultures of Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and Sulfobacillus acidophilus.
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RR contributed to conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, investigation, methodology and writing—original draft. PV participated in formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, software, supervision, validation, visualization, writing—original draft and writing—review & editing. DC conducted conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources, software, supervision, validation, visualization, writing—original draft and writing—review & editing.
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Romero, R., Viedma, P. & Cotoras, D. Biooxidation of hydrogen sulfide to sulfur by moderate thermophilic acidophilic bacteria. Biodegradation 35, 195–208 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-023-10049-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-023-10049-y