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Effect of S/N ratio on sulfide removal by autotrophic denitrification

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

In this study a completely stirred tank reactor was used to study the effect of sulfide to nitrate (S/N) ratio on sulfide removal while nitrate was used as electron acceptor. Several S/N ratios were studied for this purpose ranging from 0.3 to 2.4 mol/mol. The complete sulfide removal was achieved when S/N ratio 0.85 mol/mol was used with the autotrophic denitrification efficiency up to 80 %. No nitrite accumulation was observed, and the main product of sulfide oxidation was sulfate. Dissimilatory nitrogen reduction to ammonia occurred and subsequently, elemental sulfur accumulated while S/N ratio was higher than 1.3 mol/mol. The specific autotrophic denitrification rates under S/N ratios 0.8 and 1.2 were 5 and 26 mg g−1 h−1 (N-NO3 −, VSS), respectively. Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans were detected in the reactor by fluorescent in situ hybridization, but their overall representation was not more than 5 % of the entire microbial populations.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financed by grant no. TA01020798 “Komplexní biotechnologie pro spojené odstraňování sulfanu z bioplynu a nutrientů z odpadních vod na čistírnách odpadních vod, bioplynových stanicích a podobných technologických celcích” and grant no. MSM6046137308 “Studium chemických a biologických procesů pro ochranu životního prostředí.”

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The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Technology, Institute of Chemical Technology, Technická 5, 166 28, Prague 6, The Czech Republic

    Petr Dolejs, Ladislav Paclík, Josef Maca, Dana Pokorna, Jana Zabranska & Jan Bartacek

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  1. Petr Dolejs
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  2. Ladislav Paclík
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Correspondence to Petr Dolejs.

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Dolejs, P., Paclík, L., Maca, J. et al. Effect of S/N ratio on sulfide removal by autotrophic denitrification. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 2383–2392 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-6140-6

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