A novel biofilm bioreactor derived from a consortium of acidophilic arsenite-oxidizing bacteria for the cleaning up of arsenite from acid mine drainage

• Published in: Ecotoxicology (London) Vol. 30; no. 7; pp. 1437 - 1445
• Main Authors: Xu, Yifan, Li, Hao, Zeng, Xian-Chun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2021; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acid mine drainage; Adsorption; Arsenic; Arsenic compounds; Arsenite; Bacteria; Biofilms; Bioreactors; Cleaning; Consortia; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Genes; Industrial applications; Microorganisms; Mine drainage; Oxidases; Oxidation; Water pollution; Acidophilic bacteria; gene diversity; Arsenite-oxidizing bacteria; Biofilm bioreactor; Acid mine drainage; As(III)-contaminated acidic wastewater
• ISSN: 0963-9292; 1573-3017
• DOI: 10.1007/s10646-020-02283-4

Arsenite (As(III)) was considered to be of great concern in acid mine drainage (AMD). A promising approach for cleaning up of arsenite from AMD is microbial oxidation of As(III) followed by adsorptions. However, there is virtually no research about the acidophilic bioreactor for As(III) oxidation so far. In this study, we formed a new biofilm bioreactor with a consortium of acidophilic As(III) oxidation bacteria. It is totally chemoautotrophic, with no need to add any carbon or other materials during the operations. It works well under pH 3.0–4.0, capable of oxidizing 1.0–20.0 mg/L As(III) in 3.0–4.5 h, respectively. A continuous operation of the bioreactor suggests that it is very stable and sustainable. Functional gene detection indicated that the biofilms possessed a unique diversity of As(III) oxidase genes. Taken together, this acidophilic bioreactor has great potential for industrial applications in the cleaning up of As(III) from AMD solution.