Title: Lab-scale production of biogenic sulphide for metal precipitation in remote areas

Authors: Maria Teresa Alvarez; Britt-Marie Pott; Georgina Chávez; Alberto Giménez; Rajni Hatti-Kaul; Bo Mattiasson

Addresses: Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Bioquímicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Fármaco Bioquímicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, P.O. Box 3239, La Paz Bolivia. ' Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Department of Biotechnology, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-22 100, Lund Sweden. ' Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Bioquímicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Fármaco Bioquímicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, P.O. Box 3239, La Paz Bolivia. ' Facultad de Ciencias Farmacéuticas y Bioquímicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Fármaco Bioquímicas, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, P.O. Box 3239, La Paz Bolivia. ' Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Department of Biotechnology, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-22 100, Lund Sweden. ' Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Department of Biotechnology, Lund University, P.O. Box 124, SE-22 100, Lund Sweden

Abstract: Batch cultures with wheat straw, biomass of Paja Brava (Festuca orthophylla), filter paper, newspaper and beech leaves (Fagus sylvatica) were established to produce sulphide. Sulphide production, sulphate reduction, concentration of Volatile Fatty Acids (VFAs), enzyme activities and Fluorescence in situ hybridisation were determined. Approximately 5 mM of sulphide was produced during anaerobic digestion of wheat straw, while the production with newspaper as carbon source was the lowest (ca.1 mM). The sulphide production (2-5 mM) in the semi-continuous culture of the consortium A10, using wheat straw supported Cu(II), Pb (II) and Zn (II) removal up to 90%.

Keywords: sulphide production; anaerobic digestion; cellulose; hemicellulose; heavy metals; biogenic sulphide; metal precipitation; remote areas; volatile fatty acids;, enzyme activity; fluorescence; biomass; wheat straw; Cu(II); Pb(II); Zn(II); copper; lead; zinc; Paja Brava; Festuca orthophylla; filter papers; newspaper; beech leaves; Fagus sylvatica.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEWM.2012.046395

International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, 2012 Vol.9 No.3/4, pp.313 - 329

Published online: 13 Dec 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article