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Kinetic limitations during the simultaneous removal of p-cresol and sulfide in a denitrifying process

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the capacity of a denitrifying consortium to achieve the simultaneous removal of nitrate, sulfide and p-cresol and elucidate the rate-limiting steps in the mixotrophic process. Nitrite reduction appeared as the most evident rate-limiting step in the denitrifying respiratory process. The nitrite reduction rate achieved was up to 57 times lower than the nitrate reduction rate during the simultaneous removal of sulfide and p-cresol. Negligible accumulation of N2O occurred in the denitrifying cultures corroborating that nitrite reduction was the main rate-limiting step of the respiratory process. A synergistic effect of nitrate and sulfide is proposed to explain the accumulation of nitrite. The study also points at the oxidation of S0 as another rate-limiting step in the denitrifying process. Different respiratory rates were achieved with the distinct electron donors provided (p-cresol and sulfide). The oxidation rate of p-cresol (qCRES) was generally higher (up to 2.6-fold in terms of reducing equivalents) than the sulfide oxidation rate (qS2−), except for the experiments performed at 100 mg S2− L−1 in which qS2− was slightly (~1.4-fold in terms of reducing equivalents) higher than qCRES. The present study provides kinetic information, which should be considered when designing and operating denitrifying reactors to treat industrial wastewaters containing large amounts of sulfurous, nitrogenous and phenolic contaminants such as those generated from petrochemical refineries.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been financially supported by the Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (project SEP-CONACYT-C02-43144). ERME greatly acknowledges a PhD fellowship from CONACYT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. División de Ciencias Ambientales, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (IPICyT), Camino a la Presa San José 2055, Col. Lomas 4ª Sección, 78216, San Luis Potosí, SLP, Mexico

    Francisco J. Cervantes

  2. Departamento de Ciencias del Agua y Medio Ambiente, Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora, Av. 5 de Febrero 818 sur. Cd. Obregón, 85000, Sonora, Mexico

    Edna R. Meza-Escalante

  3. Departamento de Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, San Rafael Atlixco 186, Vicentina, 09340, Iztapalapa D.F., Mexico

    Anne-Claire Texier & Jorge Gómez

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  1. Francisco J. Cervantes
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  2. Edna R. Meza-Escalante
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  3. Anne-Claire Texier
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  4. Jorge Gómez
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Correspondence to Jorge Gómez.

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Cervantes, F.J., Meza-Escalante, E.R., Texier, AC. et al. Kinetic limitations during the simultaneous removal of p-cresol and sulfide in a denitrifying process. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 36, 1417–1424 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-009-0628-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-009-0628-6

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