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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
15:19
Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Published on: October 15, 2015
Functional consortium for denitrifying sulfide removal process
Chuan Chen1, Nanqi Ren, Aijie Wang
1State Key Laboratory of Water Resource and Environment (SKLWRE), Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
|December 4, 2009
Summary
The denitrifying sulfide removal (DSR) process effectively treats industrial wastewater. A dilution-to-extinction method identified Stenotrophomonas sp. and Paracoccus sp. as key to DSR performance in granules.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Wastewater treatment technologies
- Biogeochemical cycles
Background:
- Industrial wastewaters pose environmental challenges due to sulfide, nitrate, and chemical oxygen demand (COD).
- The Denitrifying Sulfide Removal (DSR) process offers a simultaneous treatment solution, converting pollutants into elemental sulfur, nitrogen gas, and carbon dioxide.
- Understanding microbial community structure is crucial for optimizing DSR performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To correlate microbial community composition with DSR performance using a dilution-to-extinction approach.
- To identify the key microbial strains responsible for DSR in granular sludge.
- To elucidate the functional roles of different microbial populations within the DSR system.
Main Methods:
- Application of the dilution-to-extinction method across serial dilutions (10^-2 to 10^-6).
- Microbial community analysis of original suspension and different dilution levels.
- Assessment of DSR performance at various microbial community compositions.
Main Results:
- Stenotrophomonas sp., Thauera sp., and Azoarcus sp. were identified as heterotrophic denitrifiers.
- Paracoccus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were identified as sulfide-oxidizing denitrifiers.
- The 10^-4 dilution, containing Stenotrophomonas sp. and Paracoccus sp., represented the functional consortium for optimal DSR, while DSR performance was lost at 10^-6 dilution.
Conclusions:
- The dilution-to-extinction approach successfully identified key microbial players in the DSR process.
- Stenotrophomonas sp. and Paracoccus sp. form the functional consortium essential for DSR in granular sludge.
- Microbial community structure directly dictates the efficiency and success of the denitrifying sulfide removal process.
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