Microbial communities and biogenic Mn-oxides in an on-site biofiltration system for cold Fe-(II)- and Mn(II)-rich groundwater treatment

Abstract

This study investigated relationships between microbial communities, groundwater chemistry, and geochemical and mineralogical characteristics in field-aged biofilter media from a two-stage, pilot-scale, flow-through biofiltration unit designed to remove Fe(II) and Mn(II) from cold groundwater (8 to 15 °C). High-throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of influent groundwater and biofilter samples (solids, effluents, and backwash water) revealed significant differences in the groundwater, Fe filter, and Mn filter communities. These community differences reflect conditions in each filter that select for populations that biologically oxidize Fe(II) and Mn(II) in the two filters, respectively. Genera identified in both filters included relatives of known Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB), Mn(II)-oxidizing bacteria (MnOB), and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Relatives of AOB and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria were abundant in sequencing reads from both filters. Relatives of FeOB in class Betaproteobacteria dominated the Fe filter. Taxa related to Mn-oxidizing organisms were minor members of the Mn-filter communities; intriguingly, while Alphaproteobacteria dominated (40 ± 10% of sequencing reads) the Mn filter community, these Alphaproteobacteria did not classify as known MnOB. Isolates from Fe and Mn filter backwash enrichment studies provide insight on the identity of MnOB in this system. Novel putative MnOB isolates included Azospirillum sp. CDMB, Solimonas soli CDMK, and Paenibacillus sp. CDME. The isolate Hydrogenophaga strain CDMN can oxidize Mn(II) at 8 °C; this known FeOB is likely capable of Mn(II) oxidation in this system. Synchrotron-based X-ray near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) coupled with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) revealed the dominant Mn-oxide that formed was biogenic birnessite. Co-existence of amorphous and crystallized Mn-oxide surface morphologies on the Mn-filter media suggest occurrence of both biological and autocatalytic Mn(II) oxidation in the biofilter. This study provides evidence that biofiltration is a viable approach to remove iron, manganese, and ammonia in cold groundwater systems, and that mineralogical and microbiological approaches can be used to monitor biofiltration system efficacy and function.