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We present research investigating how, with in depth knowledge of the community, microbial communities may be harnessed for bioremediation of hazardous water contaminants. We focused on the bacterial reduction of perchlorate, a common water contaminant. For this we studied the structure and capabilities of a novel sulfur-utilizing, perchlorate-reducing bacterial (SUPeRB) consortium. Initially, we characterized the minimal consortium that retained functional capabilities, using 16S rRNA and functional gene analysis. A diverse functional consortium dominated by Beta-Proteobacteria of the family Rhodocyclaceae and sulfur-oxidizing Epsilon-Proteobacteria was found. We also examined the optimal growth conditions under which perchlorate degradation occurred and uncovered the upper limits of this function. Bacterial isolates were screened for function and the presence of functional genes. We expanded to bioreactor studies at bench- and pilot-scale, and first used a perchlorate-reducing, bench-scale bioreactor to probe the stability of the microbial ecosystem. During stable reactor function, a core consortium of Beta- and Epsilon-Proteobacteria reduced perchlorate and the co-contaminant nitrate. A disturbance of the vi consortium led to a failure in function and to higher system diversity. This suggests that the SUPeRB consortium was not metabolically flexible and high population diversity was necessary for a return to stable function. In a pilot-scale bioreactor we determined that the SUPeRB consortium could stably degrade low levels of perchlorate to below the EPA maximum recommended limit. Field conditions, such as temperature extremes and intermittent perchlorate feed, did not negatively impact overall function. When all reactor consortia were compared we observed that the volume of the reactor and the initial inoculum were not as important to stable reactor function as the acclimatization of the consortium to the system and maintenance of favorable conditions within the reactor. In summary we found that the SUPeRB consortium successfully degraded perchlorate in multiple systems. The study of this novel consortium expands our knowledge of the metabolic capabilities of perchlorate-reducing bacteria and suggests potential evolutionary pathways for perchlorate-reduction by microorganisms. The SUPeRB consortium may be used to establish bioremediation systems for perchlorate and other environmental contaminants.

Um dos principais impactos causados pela indústria é a poluição hídrica por meio da eliminação de compostos metálicos em efluentes, gerando acúmulo destes na cadeia alimentar e causando efeitos toxicológicos na biota aquática e na saúde da população. O cádmio e o níquel são exemplos desses tipos de contaminantes, geralmente presentes na mineração de cobre e zinco. Novas tecnologias têm buscado reduzir a concentração destes metais em efluentes de uma forma mais sustentável. Entre elas, a adsorção utiliza adsorventes que apresentam em sua superfície sítios com cargas que podem ser ativadas, sendo capazes de reter íons em solução, como os cátions metálicos. Entre os biossorventes, micro-organismos como as bactérias podem apresentar características para recuperação dos metais, gerando assim o interesse por tecnologias sustentáveis que possam aproveitar rejeitos industriais. Essa técnica utiliza a interação entre os grupos funcionais presentes nos biossorventes com os íons metálicos. Para este estudo, como pH, concentração de adsorventes e metais, tempo de contato e condições de tratamento de biossorventes foram avaliados por meio da utilização de bacterianos presentes no solo de uma região com histórico de contaminações industriais. Foi utilizado sistema em batelada por meio de erlenmeyers com soluções monoelementares de cádmio (II) e níquel (II). Com os resultados obtidos foi concluído que dentre os parâmetros mencionados, o que mais influenciou na biossorção foi o pH; a concentração de biomassa que apresentou maior captação metálica foi a de 0,1g.L-1; o adsorvente que apresentou a maior captação metálica de Cd2+ e Ni2+ foi a biomassa autoclavada, com captação metálica (qe) 294 mg.g-1 para Cd2+ e 46 mg.g-1 para Ni2+. / One of the main impacts caused by the industry is the water pollution by means of the elimination of metallic compounds in effluents, generating accumulation of these in the food chain and causing toxicological effects in the aquatic biota and the health of the population. Cadmium and nickel are examples of these types of contaminants, usually present in copper and zinc mining. New technologies have sought to reduce the concentration of these metals in effluents in a more sustainable way. Among them, the adsorption uses adsorbents that have on their surface sites with charges that can be activated, being able to retain ions in solution, such as metallic cations. Among biosorbents, microorganisms such as bacteria may have characteristics for metal recovery, thus generating interest in sustainable technologies that can take advantage of industrial waste. This technique uses the interaction between the functional groups present in the biosorbents with the metallic ions. For this study, parameters such as pH, concentration of adsorbents and metals, contact time and biosorbent treatment conditions were evaluated through the use of bacterial consortium present in the soil of a region with a history of industrial contamination. A batch system was used with erlenmeyers with monoelement solutions of cadmium (II) and nickel (II). With the results obtained it was concluded that among the mentioned parameters, what influenced biosorption most was the pH; the concentration of biomass that presented the greatest metallic uptake was that of 0.1g.L-1; the adsorbent that presented the highest Cd2+ and Ni2+ metal uptake was the autoclaved biomass, with metal uptake (qe) of the values obtained in the Langmuir isotherms around 294 mg.g-1 for Cd2+ and 46 mg.g-1 for Ni2+.

Um dos principais impactos causados pela indústria é a poluição hídrica por meio da eliminação de compostos metálicos em efluentes, gerando acúmulo destes na cadeia alimentar e causando efeitos toxicológicos na biota aquática e na saúde da população. O cádmio e o níquel são exemplos desses tipos de contaminantes, geralmente presentes na mineração de cobre e zinco. Novas tecnologias têm buscado reduzir a concentração destes metais em efluentes de uma forma mais sustentável. Entre elas, a adsorção utiliza adsorventes que apresentam em sua superfície sítios com cargas que podem ser ativadas, sendo capazes de reter íons em solução, como os cátions metálicos. Entre os biossorventes, micro-organismos como as bactérias podem apresentar características para recuperação dos metais, gerando assim o interesse por tecnologias sustentáveis que possam aproveitar rejeitos industriais. Essa técnica utiliza a interação entre os grupos funcionais presentes nos biossorventes com os íons metálicos. Para este estudo, como pH, concentração de adsorventes e metais, tempo de contato e condições de tratamento de biossorventes foram avaliados por meio da utilização de bacterianos presentes no solo de uma região com histórico de contaminações industriais. Foi utilizado sistema em batelada por meio de erlenmeyers com soluções monoelementares de cádmio (II) e níquel (II). Com os resultados obtidos foi concluído que dentre os parâmetros mencionados, o que mais influenciou na biossorção foi o pH; a concentração de biomassa que apresentou maior captação metálica foi a de 0,1g.L-1; o adsorvente que apresentou a maior captação metálica de Cd2+ e Ni2+ foi a biomassa autoclavada, com captação metálica (qe) 294 mg.g-1 para Cd2+ e 46 mg.g-1 para Ni2+. / One of the main impacts caused by the industry is the water pollution by means of the elimination of metallic compounds in effluents, generating accumulation of these in the food chain and causing toxicological effects in the aquatic biota and the health of the population. Cadmium and nickel are examples of these types of contaminants, usually present in copper and zinc mining. New technologies have sought to reduce the concentration of these metals in effluents in a more sustainable way. Among them, the adsorption uses adsorbents that have on their surface sites with charges that can be activated, being able to retain ions in solution, such as metallic cations. Among biosorbents, microorganisms such as bacteria may have characteristics for metal recovery, thus generating interest in sustainable technologies that can take advantage of industrial waste. This technique uses the interaction between the functional groups present in the biosorbents with the metallic ions. For this study, parameters such as pH, concentration of adsorbents and metals, contact time and biosorbent treatment conditions were evaluated through the use of bacterial consortium present in the soil of a region with a history of industrial contamination. A batch system was used with erlenmeyers with monoelement solutions of cadmium (II) and nickel (II). With the results obtained it was concluded that among the mentioned parameters, what influenced biosorption most was the pH; the concentration of biomass that presented the greatest metallic uptake was that of 0.1g.L-1; the adsorbent that presented the highest Cd2+ and Ni2+ metal uptake was the autoclaved biomass, with metal uptake (qe) of the values obtained in the Langmuir isotherms around 294 mg.g-1 for Cd2+ and 46 mg.g-1 for Ni2+.

Les effluents de distillerie de mélasse de canne à sucre génèrent une pollution environnementale due à, d’une part de grands volumes et d’autres part à la présence de composés de couleur brune foncée, connus sous le nom de mélanoïdines. Dans cette étude, un consortium bactérien CONS8 isolé dans des sédiments de chute d'eau a été choisi comme consortium apte à la décoloration de la mélasse. On a montré que le consortium CONS8 pouvait décolorer, trois eaux usées synthétiques différentes, élaborées respectivement à base de Viandox (13,48% v/v), d’eau usée de mélasse de betterave (41,5% v/v) ou d’eau usée de mélasse de canne à sucre (20% v/v). Les décolorations obtenues en 2 jours seulement, en fioles d’Erlenmeyer sont respectivement de 9,5, à 8,02 et à 17,5%. Quatre bactéries prédominantes ont été identifiées dans le consortium CONS8 par l'analyse de l'rADN 16S. Sur la base de cette identification, et afin de réaliser la décoloration la plus élevée, un consortium bactérien artificiel MMP1 a été reconstruit avec Klebsiella oxytoca, Serratia mercescens (T2) et la bactérie inconnue DQ817737 (T4). Dans des conditions optimisées (aération, pH) le consortium bactérien MMP1 a permis de décolorer l'eau usée synthétique contenant de la mélanoidine à 18,3% en 2 jours. La comparaison de la décoloration par le consortium MMP1 avec un milieu abiotique a démontré que la décoloration était principalement due à l'activité biotique des cellules bactériennes, sans aucun phénomène d'adsorption. Un complément en minéraux et vitamines B n'a pas amélioré la décoloration de mélanoïdines avec le consortium bactérien MMP1. Enfin, les performances d'un bioréacteur à membrane pour traiter les eaux résiduaires synthétiques contenant de la mélanoïdine ont été évaluées à l’échelle du laboratoire. L'ensemencement du réacteur a été réalisé avec un inoculum sur la base du consortium MMP1. Le réacteur a fonctionné sous plusieurs conditions de temps de séjour hydrauliques (HRT) de 15, 20, et 40 heures. Les performances ont été analysées en termes de DCO (demande chimique en oxygène), décoloration et croissance de biomasse. Les résultats ont indiqué qu’une efficacité accrue d’élimination de la DCO et de la couleur ont été obtenues avec le HRT le plus long. / Distillery effluent from sugarcane molasses leads to an environmental pollution due to its large volume and the presence of dark brown colored compounds, known as melanoidins. In this study, a bacterial consortium CONS8 isolated from waterfall sediments in Maehongsorn province was selected as a molasses-decolorizing consortium. Consortium CONS8 was able to decolorize, only within 2 days, in Erlenmeyer flasks, three different synthetic wastewaters containing either Viandox sauce (13.5% v/v), beet molasses wastewater (41.5% v/v) or sugarcane molasses wastewater (20% v/v) at 9.5, 8.0 and 17.5%, respectively. Four predominant bacteria present in the consortium CONS8 were identified by the 16S rDNA analysis. To achieve the highest decolorization, the artificial bacterial consortium MMP1 comprising Klebsiella oxytoca, Serratia mercescens (T2) and unknown bacterium DQ817737 (T4), was constructed. Under optimized conditions (aeration, pH), the bacterial consortium MMP1 was able to decolorize the synthetic melanoidins-containing wastewater at 18.3% within 2 days. The comparison of decolorization by the consortium MMP1 with abiotic control proved that the color removal for synthetic melanoidins-containing wastewater medium was mainly due to biotic activity of bacterial cells, without any adsorption phenomena. Supplement of nutrients and vitamin B did not promote melanoidins decolorization by bacterial consortium MMP1. Finally, the performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) for synthetic melanoidins-containing wastewater treatment was investigated at laboratory scale, with a mineral membrane. The reactor seeding was made with the MMP1 bacterial consortium inoculum. The reactor was performed with several hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 15, 20, and 40 hours. The performances were analyzed in terms of COD, color removal and biomass in the reactor. The results indicated that the higher COD and color removal efficiency were achieved with the longer HRT.

This thesis examined the biological treatment of gas streams containing benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX) using solid-liquid two-phase partitioning bioscrubbers (SL-TPPBs). SL-TPPBs consist of a cell containing aqueous phase and a polymeric solid phase that sequesters poorly water soluble and/or toxic substrates, mitigating substrate toxicity in the aqueous phase and improving the gas mass transfer during treatment of VOC contaminated gases. An initial investigation of oxygen transport determined that the polymers in a stirred-tank SL-TPPB enhance gas-liquid mass transfer. In addition, a study on biodegradation kinetics of BTEX by a bacterial consortium identified and quantified substrate interactions such as inhibition, enhancement and cometabolism. The stirred-tank SL-TPPB was then experimentally investigated for treatment of BTEX gas streams during steady-state and dynamic step-change operation to determine performance of the system relative to other biotreatment methods. A mathematical model was developed to predict system performance, which included the microbial kinetic model structure and parameters estimated during kinetic and oxygen mass transfer studies. As a less energy intensive alternative, an airlift SL-TPPB was operated and characterized. The airlift SL-TPPB was compared to an airlift liquid-liquid TPPB (silicone oil as sequestering phase) and a single phase airlift over dynamic step-change loadings, which showed that the airlift SL-TPPB outperformed the single phase airlift by >30% and had similar performance to the liquid-liquid airlift. However, the airlift SL-TPPB performance was lower relative to the stirred-tank SL-TPPB by >15%. Steady-state operation of the airlift SL-TPPB identified a range of operating conditions that provided maximum performance and conditions that were not oxygen limited. This prompted a study of oxygen mass transfer and hydrodynamics in the airlift system, which identified that the addition of polymers to an airlift does not cause physical enhancement of the gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient, but improves aqueous phase mixing and enhances overall oxygen transfer rate. A tanks-in-series mathematical model was formulated to predict performance of the airlift SL-TPPB, wherein the number of tanks-in-series to describe mixing in the airlift was obtained from a residence time distribution analysis of the airlift system completed during the hydrodynamic investigation. This thesis contributes a low-energy solution for the effective treatment of gases contaminated with BTEX. / Thesis (Ph.D, Chemical Engineering) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-18 16:16:22.598

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 CintiaCC_DISSERT.pdf: 1504056 bytes, checksum: 13440ae86adf05b61136b7a79d592863 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-16 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico / The oil activity in the Rio Grande do Norte State (RN) is a permanent threat to coastal ecosystems, particularly mangroves, with the possibility of oil spills. In this context, the objective of this study was to evaluate the potential resistance of the mangrove environment of a possible spill. Were selected and isolated microorganisms degrading oil by the technique of enrichment cultures and formation of a bacterial consortium. The kinetic study of the consortium was held in rotary incubator shaken at 150 rpm and 30? C. Samples were taken at intervals of 4 hours for analysis of cell concentration and surface tension. The biodegradation was monitored using two methods of respirometry: manometric (OxiTop-C ?) and conductivimetry, where the biodegradation of oil was estimated indirectly by oxygen consumption and CO2 production, respectively. Furthermore, it was used a full 2? factorial design with triplicate at central point to the runs that used the conductivimetric methodology.. The technique of enrichment cultures allowed to obtain thirteen bacterial strains. Kinetic study of the consortium, we can showed the absence of the lag phase, reaching a maximum cell concentration of 2.55 g / L at 16 h of cultivation and a reduction on surface tension. When we adopted the methodology of OxiTop-C was detected a band indicating biodegradability (1% oil v/v), however when we used the conductivimetry methodology did not observe any band that would indicate effective biodegradation. By monitoring a process of biodegradation is necessary to observe the methodology will be adopted to evaluate the biodegradation process, since for the same conditions adopted different methodologies can produce different results. The oil-degrading isolates from soils of the mangrove estuary Potengi / RN are largely to be used in bioremediation strategies of these places, in the case of a possible oil spill, or it can be used in the treatment of waste oil generated in saline environments, since they are optimized the conditions of the tests so that the efficiency of biodegradation reach the minimum level suggested by the standarts / A atividade petrol?fera do RN constitui uma amea?a permanente aos ecossistemas costeiros, principalmente os manguezais, com a possibilidade de derramamentos de ?leo. Neste contexto, o objetivo desse estudo foi avaliar o potencial de resist?ncia do ambiente de manguezal a um poss?vel derramamento. Foram selecionados e isolados microrganismos degradadores de petr?leo pela t?cnica de enriquecimento de culturas e forma??o de um cons?rcio bacteriano. O estudo cin?tico do cons?rcio foi realizado em incubador rotativo sob agita??o de 150 rpm e temperatura de 30?C. As amostras foram retiradas em intervalos de 4h para an?lise da concentra??o celular e tens?o superficial. A biodegrada??o foi monitorada atrav?s de dois m?todos de respirometria: manom?trico (OxiTop-C?) e condutivimetria, nos quais a biodegradabilidade de petr?leo foi estimada indiretamente pelo consumo de oxig?nio e produ??o de CO2, respectivamente. Al?m disso, nos ensaios de condutivimetria foi realizado um planejamento fatorial completo 2? com triplicata no ponto central. Pela t?cnica de enriquecimento de culturas foram obtidas treze linhagens bacterianas. No estudo cin?tico do cons?rcio, pode-se observar aus?ncia da fase lag atingindo-se uma concentra??o celular m?xima de 2,55 g/L em 16 h de cultivo e queda da tens?o superficial. Quando adotou-se a metodologia do OxiTop-C foi detectado uma faixa que indica biodegradabilidade (1% de petr?leo v/v), no entanto quando utilizou-se a metodologia de condutivimetria n?o foi observado nenhuma faixa que indicasse biodegradabilidade efetiva. Ao monitorar um processo de biodegradabilidade ? necess?rio avaliar qual a metodologia ser? adotada para avaliar o processo de biodegrada??o, pois para as mesmas condi??es adotadas diferentes metodologias podem apresentar resultados divergentes. Os degradadores de petr?leo isolados do solo de mangue do estu?rio do Rio Potengi/RN podem vir a ser utilizados em estrat?gias de biorremedia??o desses lugares, no caso de um eventual derramamento de ?leo, ou ainda, podem ser empregados no tratamento de res?duos petrol?feros gerados em ambientes salinos, desde que sejam otimizadas as condi??es dos ensaios de modo que as efici?ncias de biodegrada??o atinjam o patamar m?nimo sugerido pelas normas