Thesis (B.S.)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1910. / C. A. Burdick determined to be Charles Adrian Burdick and H. W. Connelly determined to be Harry Wade Connelly from "Forty-First Annual Catalogue. School of Mines and Metallurgy, University of Missouri". The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Illustrated by authors. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed February 26, 2009)

Cyanide is a known toxic chemical, the production of plastics, electroplating, tanning, chemical syntheses, etc. At short-term exposure, cyanide causes rapid breathing, tremors, and long-term exposure to cyanide cause weight loss, thyroid effects, nerve damage and death. Although chemical and physical processes can be employed to degrade cyanide and its related compounds, they are often expensive and complex to operate. A proven alternative to these processes is biological treatment, which typically relies upon the acclimation and enhancement of indigenous microorganisms. Biological degradation of cyanide has often been offered as a potentially inexpensive and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional processes. The aims of first part of study were to evaluate the biodegradability of tetracyanonickelate (TCN) by Klebsiella oxytoca under anaerobic conditions. Results reveal that TCN can be biotransformed to methane by resting cells of K. oxytoca. Results also show that TCN biodegradation was inhibited by the addition of nitrate, nitrite, or ammonia at higher concentrations (5 and 10 mM). Moreover, it was found that the optimum pH for TCN conversion by K. oxytoca was about 7.1. Results from the fermenter experiment show that TCN can be completely degraded within 14 days. K. oxytoca is capable of using TCN as the nitrogen source under anaerobic conditions. TCN could be biotransformed to non-toxic end product (methane) by resting cells of K. oxytoca. Those studies provide us insight into the characteristics of TCN conversion by K. oxytoca under anaerobic conditions. In second part of this study, the technology of immobilized cells can be applied in biological treatment to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of biodegradation. In this study, potassium cyanide (KCN) was used as the target compound and both alginate (AL) and cellulose triacetate (CT) gels were applied for the preparation of immobilized cells. The free suspension systems reveal that the cell viability was highly affected by initial KCN concentration and pH. Results show that immobilized cell systems could tolerate a higher level of KCN concentration and wider ranges of pH. In the batch experiments, the maximum KCN removal rates using alginate and cellulose triacetate immobilized beads were 0.108 and 0.101 mM h-1 at pH 7, respectively. Results also indicate that immobilized system can support a higher biomass concentration. Complete KCN degradation was observed after the operation of four consecutive degradation experiments with the same batch of immobilized cells. This suggests that the activity of immobilized cells can be maintained and KCN can be used as the nitrogen source throughout KCN degradation experiments. The maximum KCN removal rates using AL and CT immobilized beads in continuous-column system were 0.224 and 0.192 mM h-1 with initial KCN concentration of 3 mM, respectively. In third part of this study, a microbial process for the degradation of propionitrile by K. oxytoca was studied. The free and immobilized cells of K. oxytoca were then examined for their capabilities on degrading propionitrile under various conditions. The efficiency and produced metabolic intermediates and end-products of propionitrile degradation were monitored in bath and continuous bioreactor experiments. Results reveal that up to 100 mM and 150 mM of propionitrile could be removed completely by the free and immobilized cell systems, respectively. Furthermore, AL and CT immobilized cell systems show higher removal efficiencies in wider ranges of temperature (20-40¢XC) and pH (6-8) compared with the free cell system. Results also indicate that immobilized cell system could support a higher cell density to enhance the removal efficiency of propionitrile. Immobilized cells were reused in five consecutive degradation experiments, and up to 99% of propionitrile degradation was observed in each batch test. This suggests that the activity of immobilized cells can be maintained and reused throughout different propionitrile degradation processes. A two-step pathway was observed for the biodegradation of propionitrile. Propionamide was first produced followed by propionic acid and ammonia. Results suggest that nitrile hydratase and amidase were involved in the degradation pathways of K. oxytoca. In the continuous bioreactor, both immobilized cells were capable of removing 150 mM of propionitriles completely within 16 h, and the maximum propionitriles removal rates using AL and CT immobilized beads were 5.04 and 4.98 mM h-1, respectively. Comparing the removal rates obtained from batch experiments with immobilized cells (AL and CT were 1.57 and 2.18 mM h-1 at 150 mM of propionitrile, respectively), the continuous-flow bioreactor show higher potential for practical application. These findings would be helpful in designing a practical system inoculated with K. oxytoca for the treatment of cyanide-containing wastewater.