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Published on: October 15, 2015
Removal of chromium and lead by a sulfate-reducing consortium using peat moss as carbon source
Julia Mariana Márquez-Reyes1, Ulrico Javier López-Chuken, Arcadio Valdez-González
1Instituto de Biotecnología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico.
Abstract:
The effect of pre-treated peat moss on the ability of a sulfate-reducing microbial consortium to remove chromium and lead in solution was evaluated. The most active bacterial community (235.7 mmol H2S/g VSS) was selected from among eight consortia. The peat moss was pre-treated with different HCl concentrations and contact times. The best combination of treatments was 20% HCl for 10 min. The constant substrate affinity Ks was 740 mg COD/L and the ratio COD/SO4(2-) was 0.71. At pH 5, higher production of biogenic sulfide was observed. The up-flowpacked bed bioreactor operated at a flow of 8.3 mL/min for 180 h to obtain removal efficiency (by sulfate-reducing activity) of 90% lead and 65% chromium. It is important to consider that peat moss is a natural adsorbent that further influences the removal efficiency of metal ions.
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