A membrane-biofilm system for sulfate conversion to elemental sulfur in mining-influenced waters

Schwarz, Alex; Suárez, José I.; Aybar, Marcelo; Nancucheo, Iván; Martı́nez, Patricio; Rittmann, Bruce E.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140088

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…This was not the case for Reactor 1, which presented no biofilm development on the membrane surface. Development of a biofilm with sulfide oxidation activity, associated with an oxygen transferring membrane, has been indeed reported as an interesting system for successful sulfide oxidation [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Eventually, the biofilm that developed on Reactor 2 clogged the lumen of the membrane, blocking liquid circulation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-Oxygenation in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) Reactors Using a Silicon Membrane for Sulfide Oxidation

et al. 2020

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Sulfide produced by sulphate-reducing bacteria in anaerobic reactors can seriously affect biogas quality. Microaeration has become a reliable way to remove sulfide, by promoting its oxidation. However, limited research is available regarding its application in upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactors. In this research, silicon membranes were studied as a mechanism to dose oxygen in USAB reactors. Two configurations were tested: the membrane placed inside the reactor or in an external module. Our results show that the external membrane proved to be a more practical alternative, providing conditions for sulfide oxidation. This led to a reduction in its concentration in the liquid effluent and biogas. External membrane configuration achieved a sulfide conversion rate of 2.4 g-S m2 d−1. Since the membrane was not sulfide-selective, methane losses were observed (about 9%). In addition, excessive oxygen consumption was observed, compared to the stoichiometric requirement. As is the case for many membrane-based systems, membrane area is a key factor determining the correct operation of the system.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-Oxygenation in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) Reactors Using a Silicon Membrane for Sulfide Oxidation

et al. 2020

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“…The oxidation of residual metal sulfides in waste rock produces acid mine drainage characterized by acidic pH and high metals and sulfate concentrations (Lottermoser, 2007;Dold, 2010). Similarly, sulfated process waters are commonly discarded along with mineral tailings in unlined surface impoundments (Schwarz et al, 2020). Both effluents often contaminate surface and ground waters, and because of the large scale of some mining operations, the effects on wildlife and human health can be significant (Simate and Ndlovu, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1) is mostly catalyzed by sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) belonging to the phylum Desulfobacterota (Waite et al, 2020). Particularly the genus Desulfovibrio is often dominant in sulfate-reducing reactors (Dar et al, 2007;Schwarz et al, 2020) under pH neutral conditions, though in acidic environments, species within the Peptococcaceae family of the Firmicutes phylum have been described (Sánchez-Andrea et al, 2015). Sulfide oxidation (Eqs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While sulfate removal systems have been well studied and even commercial systems exist (Kaksonen and Puhakka, 2007;Hao et al, 2014), they continue to be optimized (Mora et al, 2020). New applications are also constantly emerging including the fluidized bed membrane bioreactor (Oztemur et al, 2020), the membrane biofilm reactor (Schwarz et al, 2020), and the sulfur-packed bed reactors with excess sulfate rejection by nanofiltration (Asik et al, 2021). Particularly, the membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) (Nerenberg, 2016;Rittmann, 2018) is promising because it makes efficient delivery of gaseous substrates possible (H 2 and O 2 in Eqs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High-Rate Sulfate Removal Coupled to Elemental Sulfur Production in Mining Process Waters Based on Membrane-Biofilm Technology

Schwarz

Gaete

Nancucheo

et al. 2022

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.

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It is anticipated that copper mining output will significantly increase over the next 20 years because of the more intensive use of copper in electricity-related technologies such as for transport and clean power generation, leading to a significant increase in the impacts on water resources if stricter regulations and as a result cleaner mining and processing technologies are not implemented. A key concern of discarded copper production process water is sulfate. In this study we aim to transform sulfate into sulfur in real mining process water. For that, we operate a sequential 2-step membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) system. We coupled a hydrogenotrophic MBfR (H2-MBfR) for sulfate reduction to an oxidizing MBfR (O2-MBfR) for oxidation of sulfide to elemental sulfur. A key process improvement of the H2-MBfR was online pH control, which led to stable high-rate sulfate removal not limited by biomass accumulation and with H2 supply that was on demand. The H2-MBfR easily adapted to increasing sulfate loads, but the O2-MBfR was difficult to adjust to the varying H2-MBfR outputs, requiring better coupling control. The H2-MBfR achieved high average volumetric sulfate reduction performances of 1.7–3.74 g S/m3-d at 92–97% efficiencies, comparable to current high-rate technologies, but without requiring gas recycling and recompression and by minimizing the H2 off-gassing risk. On the other hand, the O2-MBfR reached average volumetric sulfur production rates of 0.7–2.66 g S/m3-d at efficiencies of 48–78%. The O2-MBfR needs further optimization by automatizing the gas feed, evaluating the controlled removal of excess biomass and S0 particles accumulating in the biofilm, and achieving better coupling control between both reactors. Finally, an economic/sustainability evaluation shows that MBfR technology can benefit from the green production of H2 and O2 at operating costs which compare favorably with membrane filtration, without generating residual streams, and with the recovery of valuable elemental sulfur.

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“…Furthermore, the membrane separation process is associated with the high cost for the membrane material (Kapdi et al 2005 ). By contrast, biological approaches such as THIOPAQ ® (Sorokin et al 2008 ) and Sulfateq™ (Veolia, France) can convert sulfide to elemental sulfur at normal temperature and pressure (Lin et al 2018 ; Schwarz et al 2020 ; Flores-Cortés et al 2021 ). Moreover, they are cost-effective and environment-friendly (Huisman et al 2006 ; Hao et al 2014 ; Muñoz et al 2015 ) because of low energy consumption, less secondary pollution, high H 2 S removal efficiency, chemical catalysts free in addition to sulfur recovery (de Rink et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of whole-cell catalyst system for sulfide biotreatment based on the engineered haloalkaliphilic bacterium

et al. 2021

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Microorganisms play an essential role in sulfide removal. Alkaline absorption solution facilitates the sulfide’s dissolution and oxidative degradation, so haloalkaliphile is a prospective source for environmental-friendly and cost-effective biodesulfurization. In this research, 484 sulfide oxidation genes were identified from the metagenomes of the soda-saline lakes and a haloalkaliphilic heterotrophic bacterium Halomonas salifodinae IM328 (=CGMCC 22183) was isolated from the same habitat as the host for expression of a representative sequence. The genetic manipulation was successfully achieved through the conjugation transformation method, and sulfide: quinone oxidoreductase gene (sqr) was expressed via pBBR1MCS derivative plasmid. Furthermore, a whole-cell catalyst system was developed by using the engineered strain that exhibited a higher rate of sulfide oxidation under the optimal alkaline pH of 9.0. The whole-cell catalyst could be recycled six times to maintain the sulfide oxidation rates from 41.451 to 80.216 µmol·min−1·g−1 dry cell mass. To summarize, a whole-cell catalyst system based on the engineered haloalkaliphilic bacterium is potentiated to be applied in the sulfide treatment at a reduced cost.

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A membrane-biofilm system for sulfate conversion to elemental sulfur in mining-influenced waters

Cited by 24 publications

References 36 publications

Micro-Oxygenation in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) Reactors Using a Silicon Membrane for Sulfide Oxidation

Micro-Oxygenation in Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed (UASB) Reactors Using a Silicon Membrane for Sulfide Oxidation

High-Rate Sulfate Removal Coupled to Elemental Sulfur Production in Mining Process Waters Based on Membrane-Biofilm Technology

Development of whole-cell catalyst system for sulfide biotreatment based on the engineered haloalkaliphilic bacterium

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