Bioleached Sludge Research Articles

Sewage sludge bioleaching by indigenous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria: Effects of ratio of substrate dosage to solid content

The aim of this work was to study the effect of ratio of substrate dosage to solid content (Sd/SC) on sewage sludge bioleaching. The inocula – indigenous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were enriched and cultured from the fresh activated sludge to a wastewater treatment plant. The results showed that Sd/SC significantly influenced the sludge bioleaching process. With increase in Sd/SC the sludge bioleaching was enhanced, which was represented by the acceleration of sludge acidification, oxidizing environment formation, and substrate (sulfur) utilization. Higher Sd/SC was more efficient to solubilize the heavy metals and total phosphorus (TP) than lower Sd/SC, while total nitrogen (TN) release was not influenced by Sd/SC. Zinc and copper were efficiently bioleached because of sludge acidification and sludge oxidation, but lead was bioleached with a low efficiency because of the formation of low soluble PbSO 4 precipitates. After bioleaching the biotoxicity of sewage sludge greatly reduced.

Enhancing Metal Removal by Coaddition of Fe2+ and S0 as Substrates of Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans for Sewage Sludge Bioleaching

Bioleaching of heavy metals from sewage sludge has been shown to be a promising technique for sludge decontamination in such a complex matrix. The effect of two types of substrates ( Fe2+ and S0 ) and their combination on metal removal efficiencies was studied in a batch system using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The results showed that the inoculation of A. ferrooxidans and coaddition of Fe2+ and S0 accelerated pH reduction and metal solubilization. After 4–10 days of bioleaching, the following removal efficiencies were obtained: Cr 80%; Cu 100%; and Zn 100%, which were the maximum that have been reported. The time required for Cr to reach the maximum was 10 days, whereas for Cu and Zn the time needed was only 4–6 days. Three different patterns of solubilization for Cr, Cu, and Zn were established as a function of pH and Fe3+ concentration. Cr required a threshold pH of around 2.0 to initiate its solubilization, whereas Cu solubilization was controlled simultaneously by pH and Fe3+ concentration. The p...

Enhanced Cr bioleaching efficiency from tannery sludge with coinoculation of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans TS6 and Brettanomyces B65 in an air-lift reactor

Bioleaching process has been demonstrated to be an effective technology in removing Cr from tannery sludge, but a large quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) present in tannery sludge often exhibits a marked toxicity to chemolithoautotrophic bioleaching bacteria such as Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. The purpose of the present study was therefore to enhance Cr bioleaching efficiencies through introducing sludge DOM-degrading heterotrophic microorganism into the sulfur-based sludge bioleaching system. An acid-tolerant DOM-degrading yeast strain Brettanomyces B65 was successfully isolated from a local Haining tannery sludge and it could metabolize sludge DOM as a source of energy and carbon for growth. A combined bioleaching experiment (coupling Brettanomyces B65 and A. thiooxidans TS6) performed in an air-lift reactor indicated that the rates of sludge pH reduction and ORP increase were greatly improved, resulting in enhanced Cr solubilization. Compared with the 5 days required for maximum solubilization of Cr for the control (single bioleaching process without inoculation of Brettanomyces B65), the bioleaching period was significantly shorten to 3 days for the combined bioleaching system. Moreover, little nitrogen and phosphorous were lost and the content of Cr was below the permitted levels for land application after 3 days of bioleaching treatment.

Degradation of inhibitory substances by heterotrophic microorganisms during bioleaching of heavy metals from anaerobically digested sewage sludge

The presence of organic acids was found to be inhibitory to the bioleaching of sewage sludge and the objective of the present study was to elucidate the roles of heterotrophic microorganisms in removing organic acids during the bioleaching of heavy metals from anaerobically digested sewage sludge. Microbiological analysis showed that acetic and propionic acids posed a severe inhibitory effect on iron-oxidizing bacteria as reflected by a sharp decrease in their viable counts in the first 4 d and it only started to increase 2 d after the depletion of both acids. Biodegradation of these inhibitory organic acids was revealed by sharp increases in total fungi and acidophiles between day 3 and day 5 which coincided with degradation of organic acids. This was further confirmed by the increases in total counts of both acetate and propionate degraders in the same period. Two yeast strains Y4 and Y5 with strong ability to degrade acetate and/or propionate were isolated and identified as Pichia sp. and Blastoschizomycetes capitatus, respectively. B. capitatus Y5 was an more important player in removing the inhibitory organic acids during the bioleaching process since it could utilize both acetate and propionate as sole carbon source while Pichia sp. Y4 was an strict acetate degrader. Results from the present study not only provided the evidence for biodegradation of organic acids by heterotrophs, but also disclosed a biological mechanism for the initiation of bioleaching of organic acid-laden sewage sludge.

Removal of Cr from tannery sludge by bioleaching method

Bioleaching of Cr(III) from tannery sludge using the mixture of ingenuous iron-and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria was investigated in batch flasks. Experiments involved the adaptation of indigenous iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, the pre-acidification the sludge to pH 6.0 and the addition of energy substrates. Results showed the inoculation of mixture of ingenuous iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and co-addition of Fe 2+ and elemental sulfur accelerated acid production and increase of oxidation-reduction potential originating from the bio-oxidation of Fe 2+ and elemental sulfur. Dissolved Cr concentration increased concomitant with pH decreased in the sludge and reached its maximum removal of 95.6%. The amelioration of the odor of bioleached sludge could be noted. However, 20.4% of N, 24.5% of P and 14.3% of organic matter were lost in the bioleaching process. The residual Cr content in the leached tannery sludge was acceptable for use in agriculture. This study had shown the feasibility of applying the bioleaching process, developed for sewage sludge, to tannery sludge with high Cr.

Bioleaching of Cr from Tannery Sludge: The Effects of Initial Acid Addition and Recycling of Acidified Bioleached Sludge

A technologically feasible process called bioleaching was used to remove Cr from tannery sludge with Acidithiobacilli TS6 bacteria in this study. The buffering capacity of tannery sludge and municipal sewage sludge were compared. The effects of initial sulfuric acid addition on bioleaching process and influences of recycle rate of acidified bioleached sludge on subsequent bioleaching reaction were examined. The quantities of initial sulfuric acid addition ranged from 0 to 0.185 ml g−1 dry sludge. Recycle rate(Vbioleached/Vtotal) was controlled at 1/3, 1/2, 3/5 and 2/3. We found that tannery sludge had a higher buffering capacity than sewage sludge. The results showed that there was an increase in the rates of pH reduction and Cr solubilization with the increase of initial sulfuric acid addition. The suitable quantity of sulfuric acid addition was 0.185 ml g−1 dry sludge at the beginning of the first bioleaching process. After 10 days of bioleaching, pH reached 1.5 and almost 100% of Cr could be leached in this case. Besides, an evidently dividing point pH 2.0 was found to be the threshold value for considerable Cr solubilization during the leaching reaction. Recycle experiments confirmed that the application of the method by recycling acidified sludge to launch subsequent bioleaching is feasible. The optimal recycle rate of acidified sludge for consecutive leaching of Cr from tannery sludge is 2/3.

Tolerance to copper and zinc of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans isolated from sewage sludge

The effect of copper and zinc ions on sulphur oxidation by Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, strain SFR01, isolated from anaerobic sewage sludge was assessed, resulting in tolerance levels up to 20 and 200 mmol l−1 for copper and zinc, respectively. The tolerance levels obtained were higher than the concentration of copper and zinc usually found in the collected sewage sludge. The tolerance levels obtained indicate no constraints for sludge bioleaching of those metals due to their toxicities to the indigenous A. thiooxidans.

Identification of inhibitory substances affecting bioleaching of heavy metals from anaerobically digested sewage sludge.

Significant inhibitory effects of the filtrate medium of anaerobically digested sewage sludge on iron oxidation by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans ANYL-1 were observed in our preliminary experiments, indicating the presence of inhibitory substances in anaerobically digested sewage sludge. The objectives of the present study were to identify the possible inhibitory substances and to evaluate their impacts on metal solubilization during bioleaching of sewage sludge. The results showed that the concentrations of total reducing sugars, all tested metal ions, and anions were too low to suppress iron oxidation, and only organic acids, especially acetic and propionic acids, were found at concentrations higher than their inhibitory levels. The presence of 10.8 mM acetic acid and 9.88 mM propionic acid in sewage sludge (sludge N) led to long lag periods of 6 and 7 days for solubilization of Cu and Cr, respectively, as compared to a lag period of only 1 day in the control and another sludge (sludge S) with a low level of organic acids. Meanwhile the leaching time for maximum solubilization of Zn also extended to 6 days in the presence of organic acids as compared to 3 days in the control. Acetic and propionic acids posed an unfavorable bioleaching condition for anaerobically digested sewage sludge; therefore, further studies are required to explore the means to remove the inhibitory effects to improve the heavy metal bioleaching efficiency.

Bacterial Leaching of Metals from Tannery Sludge by Indigenous Sulphur-Oxidizing Bacteria—Effect of Sludge Solids Concentration

An investigation on the effect of sludge solids concentration on bioleaching of Cr(III) and other metals from tannery sludge by indigenous sulphur-oxidizing bacteria was carried out. The sludge solids concentrations ranged from 13 to 60 g/L. The concentration of elemental sulphur was fixed at 30 g/L. The results showed that the lowest pH reached after 25 days of bioleaching at all studied sludge solids concentration was about 1.3. The optimum sludge solids concentration for maximum metal leaching from tannery sludge was 40 g/L and about 87% of Cr(III), 73% of Al, 72% of Fe, 62% of Mg, and 73% of Zn could be leached in this case. During bioleaching, the concentrations of total and volatile suspended solids of the tannery sludge significantly decreased. The sulphur-oxidizing bacteria could tolerate a Cr(III) concentration as high as 5,930 mg/L at pH 1.3. The leaching efficiencies of Cr(III), Al, and Fe for both chemical leaching and bioleaching of tannery sludge were similar at pH 1.3. The leaching efficiency of Ca, Mg, and Zn in both leaching processes were identical for pH values in the range of 1.3 to 3.0.

Solubilization profiles of metal ions from bioleaching of sewage sludge as a function of pH

Two patterns of solubilization of metal ions resulting from bioleaching of sewage sludge by sulphur-oxidizing Thiobacillus spp. were established as a function of pH. Chromium and copper ions required a pH of 2–3 to initiate their solubilization, whereas nickel and zinc ions had their solubilization initiated at pH 6–6.5. The patterns obtained were independent of the sludge solids concentrations investigated (10, 17, 25, 32.5 and 40 g l−1).