Enhancement of bio-S0 recovery and revealing the inhibitory effect on microorganisms under high sulfide loading

Junjie Wang; Zhuowei Cheng; Jiade Wang; Dongzhi Chen; Jianmeng Chen; Jianming Yu; Songkai Qiu; Dionysios D Dionysiou

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117214

Enhancement of bio-S⁰ recovery and revealing the inhibitory effect on microorganisms under high sulfide loading

Environ Res. 2023 Dec 1;238(Pt 2):117214. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117214. Epub 2023 Oct 1.

Authors

Junjie Wang¹, Zhuowei Cheng², Jiade Wang³, Dongzhi Chen⁴, Jianmeng Chen³, Jianming Yu³, Songkai Qiu⁵, Dionysios D Dionysiou⁶

Affiliations

¹ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, 18 Chao-wang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Eco-environmental Science Research & Design Institute of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310007, China.
² College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, 18 Chao-wang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, China; Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Technology Research of Zhejiang Province, Eco-environmental Science Research & Design Institute of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310007, China. Electronic address: zwcheng@zjut.edu.cn.
³ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, 18 Chao-wang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, China.
⁴ School of Petrochemical Engineering & Environment, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316004, China.
⁵ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, 18 Chao-wang Road, Hangzhou, 310014, China; Haina-Water Engineering Research Center, Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang, Jiaxing 314000, China.
⁶ Environmental Engineering and Science Program, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA.

PMID: 37783332
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117214

Abstract

Biodesulfurization is a mature technology, but obtaining biosulfur (S⁰) that can be easily settled naturally is still a challenge. Increasing the sulfide load is one of the known methods to obtain better settling of S⁰. However, the inhibitory effect of high levels of sulfide on microbes has also not been well studied. We constructed a high loading sulfide (1.55-10.86 kg S/m³/d) biological removal system. 100% sulfide removal and 0.56-2.53 kg S/m³/d S⁰ (7.0 ± 0.09-16.4 ± 0.25 μm) recovery were achieved at loads of 1.55-7.75 kg S/m³/d. Under the same load, S⁰ in the reflux sedimentation tank, which produced larger S⁰ particles (24.2 ± 0.73-53.8 ± 0.70 μm), increased the natural settling capacity and 45% recovery. For high level sulfide inhibitory effect, we used metagenomics and metatranscriptomics analyses. The increased sulfide load significantly inhibited the expression of flavin cytochrome c sulfide dehydrogenase subunit B (fccB) (Decreased from 615 ± 75 to 30 ± 5 TPM). At this time sulfide quinone reductase (SQR) (324 ± 185-1197 ± 51 TPM) was mainly responsible for sulfide oxidation and S⁰ production. When the sulfide load reached 2800 mg S/L, the SQR (730 ± 100 TPM) was also suppressed. This resulted in the accumulation of sulfide, causing suppression of carbon sequestration genes (Decreased from 3437 ± 842 to 665 ± 175 TPM). Other inhibitory effects included inhibition of microbial respiration, production of reactive oxygen species, and DNA damage. More sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) and newly identified potential SOB (99.1%) showed some activity (77.6%) upon sulfide accumulation. The main microorganisms in the sulfide accumulation environment were Thiomicrospiracea and Burkholderiaceae, whose sulfide oxidation capacity and respiration were not significantly inhibited. This study provides a new approach to enhance the natural sedimentation of S⁰ and describes new microbial mechanisms for the inhibitory effects of sulfide.

Keywords: Meta-omics; S(0) natural settlement; Solution reflux; Sulfide oxidation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Bacteria / metabolism
Bioreactors
Hydrogen Sulfide*
Oxidation-Reduction
Sulfides*

Substances

Sulfides
Hydrogen Sulfide