Dynamic Response of Sulfate-Reducing and Methanogenic Activities of Anaerobic Sewer Biofilms to Ferric Dosing
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138, Issue 4
Abstract
A recent study showed that, in addition to precipitating sulfides, addition to sewers reduces the sulfate-reducing and methanogenic activities of anaerobic sewer biofilms. The dynamic response of these activities to the commencement and termination of ferric dosage is investigated in this study. Both the sulfate-reduction and methane-production rates of anaerobic sewer biofilms decreased upon the addition of ferric ions, with a maximum inhibition of approximately 50% achieved after 3 and 7 days, respectively. In comparison, the sulfate-reducing activity of suspended biomass in the receiving reactor was completely inhibited. The volatile solids-to-total solids () ratio of sewer biofilms decreased from before addition to after a full adaptation of the biofilms to addition. Energy-dispersive spectroscopy profiles showed higher iron and sulfur contents in biofilms adapted to addition, suggesting FeS deposition in biofilms. We hypothesize that FeS precipitation primarily occurred in the upper layer of sewer biofilms causing inhibition to sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and methanogenic archaea (MA) in this layer (and in the suspended phase). However, SRB and MA were likely to be active in the deep layer. The sulfate-reducing activity recovered to approximately 90% that of the reference reactor in 5 weeks after injection was stopped, whereas there was no recovery of the methanogenic activity in the same period. The results suggest that a temporary suspension of ferric dosage would not lead to immediate recovery of the sulfate-reducing and methanogenic activities. The recovery of sulfate-reducing activity was found to be linearly correlated with the recovery of biofilm ratio, following the termination of addition.
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Acknowledgments
This work was undertaken as part of the ARC Linkage Project LP0882016ARC, which follows on from previous research done as part of LP0454182ARC. The authors also thank Dr. Beatrice Keller-Lehmann and Ms. Kar Man Leung for their helpful collaboration with the chemical analyses.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 138 • Issue 4 • April 2012
Pages: 510 - 517
Copyright
© 2012. American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 9, 2010
Accepted: Aug 31, 2011
Published online: Aug 31, 2011
Published in print: Apr 1, 2012
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