Succession of Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacteria in the Microbial Community on Corroding Concrete in Sewer Systems

Abstract

Microbially induced concrete corrosion (MICC) in sewer systems has been a serious problem for a long time. A better understanding of the succession of microbial community members responsible for the production of sulfuric acid is essential for the efficient control of MICC. In this study, the succession of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) in the bacterial community on corroding concrete in a sewer system in situ was investigated over 1 year by culture-independent 16S rRNA gene-based molecular techniques. Results revealed that at least six phylotypes of SOB species were involved in the MICC process, and the predominant SOB species shifted in the following order: Thiothrix sp., Thiobacillus plumbophilus, Thiomonas intermedia, Halothiobacillus neapolitanus, Acidiphilium acidophilum, and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. A. thiooxidans, a hyperacidophilic SOB, was the most dominant (accounting for 70% of EUB338-mixed probe-hybridized cells) in the heavily corroded concrete after 1 year. This succession of SOB species could be dependent on the pH of the concrete surface as well as on trophic properties (e.g., autotrophic or mixotrophic) and on the ability of the SOB to utilize different sulfur compounds (e.g., H 2 S, S 0 , and S 2 O 3 2؊). In addition, diverse heterotrophic bacterial species (e.g., halo-tolerant, neutrophilic, and acidophilic bacteria) were associated with these SOB. The microbial succession of these microorganisms was involved in the colonization of the concrete and the production of sulfuric acid. Furthermore, the vertical distribution of microbial community members revealed that A. thiooxidans was the most dominant throughout the heavily corroded concrete (gypsum) layer and that A. thiooxidans was most abundant at the highest surface (1.5-mm) layer and decreased logarithmically with depth because of oxygen and H 2 S transport limitations. This suggested that the production of sulfuric acid by A. thiooxidans occurred mainly on the concrete surface and the sulfuric acid produced penetrated through the corroded concrete layer and reacted with the sound concrete below.Concrete corrosion has an enormous economic impact worldwide, especially when the replacement or repair of municipal sewer systems is required. Concrete corrosion is the result of several causes such as carbonation, chloride erosion, and other chemical reactions. In sewer systems and wastewater treatment facilities where high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, moisture, and oxygen are present in the atmosphere, the deterioration of concrete is caused mainly by biogenic acid (i.e., sulfuric acid) and is known as microbially induced concrete corrosion (MICC). The biogenic acid is generated by various microbial species and complex mechanisms. The general mechanism for the sulfuric acidcaused corrosion of sewer systems has been described in the literature (17, 36). In the first step, hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) is produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria under anaerobic conditions in sewer pipes. This hydrogen sulfide enters the sewer atmosphere by v...

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