Dynamics of Microbial Communities during the Removal of Copper and Zinc in a Sulfate-Reducing Bioreactor with a Limestone Pre-Column System

Aracely Zambrano-Romero, Dario X. Ramirez-Villacis, Gabriel Trueba, Reyes Sierra-Alvarez, Antonio Leon-Reyes, Paul Cardenas and Valeria Ochoa-Herrera
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Aracely Zambrano-Romero: Instituto de Microbiología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Via Interoceánica, Quito 17-1200-841, Ecuador
Dario X. Ramirez-Villacis: Colegio de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Instituto Biósfera, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, Quito 17-1200-841, Ecuador
Gabriel Trueba: Instituto de Microbiología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Via Interoceánica, Quito 17-1200-841, Ecuador
Reyes Sierra-Alvarez: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Antonio Leon-Reyes: Colegio de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Instituto Biósfera, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, Quito 17-1200-841, Ecuador
Paul Cardenas: Instituto de Microbiología, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Via Interoceánica, Quito 17-1200-841, Ecuador
Valeria Ochoa-Herrera: Colegio de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Instituto Biósfera, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Diego de Robles y Vía Interoceánica, Quito 17-1200-841, Ecuador

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Biological treatment using sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a promising approach to remediate acid rock drainage (ARD). Our purpose was to assess the performance of a sequential system consisting of a limestone bed filter followed by a sulfate-reducing bioreactor treating synthetic ARD for 375 days and to evaluate changes in microbial composition. The treatment system was effective in increasing the pH of the ARD from 2.7 to 7.5 and removed total Cu(II) and Zn(II) concentrations by up to 99.8% and 99.9%, respectively. The presence of sulfate in ARD promoted sulfidogenesis and changed the diversity and structure of the microbial communities. Methansarcina spp. was the most abundant amplicon sequence variant (ASV); however, methane production was not detected. Biodiversity indexes decreased over time with the bioreactor operation, whereas SRB abundance remained stable. Desulfobacteraceae , Desulfocurvus , Desulfobulbaceae and Desulfovibrio became more abundant, while Desulfuromonadales , Desulfotomaculum and Desulfobacca decreased. Geobacter and Syntrophobacter were enriched with bioreactor operation time. At the beginning, ASVs with relative abundance <2% represented 65% of the microbial community and 21% at the end of the study period. Thus, the results show that the microbial community gradually lost diversity while the treatment system was highly efficient in remediating ARD.

Keywords: sulfate-reducing; bioreactor; anaerobic; acid rock drainage; metagenomics; microbial; community; dynamics; diversity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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