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Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor

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Relationship between microbial community dynamics and process performance during thermophilic sludge bioleaching.

Shen-Yi Chen¹, Li-Chieh Chou²

¹Department of Safety, Health and Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, 2 Jhuoyue Road, Nanzih, Kaohsiung, 811, Taiwan. sychen@nkfust.edu.tw.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research International

|May 6, 2016

Summary

This study developed real-time PCR to count sulfur-oxidizing bacteria in thermophilic sludge bioleaching. This method accurately monitors bacterial populations during heavy metal removal from wastewater sludge.

Keywords:

Bioleaching Heavy metal Real-time PCR Sludge Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria Thermophilic

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Published on: December 12, 2013

Area of Science:

Environmental microbiology
Biotechnology
Wastewater treatment

Background:

Bioleaching at thermophilic conditions offers a method for heavy metal removal from wastewater sludge.
Monitoring microbial communities is crucial for optimizing bioleaching processes.
Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria play a key role in the bioleaching of metals from sludge.

Purpose of the Study:

To establish a real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) method for detecting and enumerating specific sulfur-oxidizing bacteria.
To monitor the population dynamics of key bacteria during thermophilic sludge bioleaching.
To assess the correlation between bacterial numbers and bioleaching efficiency.

Main Methods:

Development and validation of real-time PCR assays targeting the 16S rRNA gene of Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans, Sulfobacillus acidophilus, and Acidithiobacillus caldus.
Application of qPCR to quantify bacterial populations during thermophilic bioleaching of wastewater sludge.
Monitoring of environmental parameters including pH, sulfate production, and heavy metal solubilization.

Main Results:

Sulfobacillus acidophilus was identified as the dominant sulfur-oxidizing bacterium, with Acidithiobacillus caldus and Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans present in lower numbers.
The total population of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria increased significantly during the thermophilic bioleaching process.
A strong correlation was observed between the population of thermophilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and decreased pH, increased sulfate production, sludge degradation, and heavy metal solubilization.

Conclusions:

Real-time PCR is a reliable and suitable method for monitoring thermophilic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria populations during sludge bioleaching.
The established qPCR technique can be applied to various environmental samples for microbial community analysis.
Bacterial enumeration via qPCR supports the understanding and optimization of bioleaching processes for effective heavy metal removal from wastewater sludge.