Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458  
© 2010 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile  
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Oxidation of volatile reduced sulphur compounds in biotrickling filter inoculated with Thiobacillus thioparus

Manuel Cáceres
Escuela de Ingeniería Bioquímica
Facultad de Ingeniería
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile

Marjorie Morales
Escuela de Ingeniería Bioquímica
Facultad de Ingeniería
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile

Ricardo San Martín
Escuela de Ingeniería Bioquímica
Facultad de Ingeniería
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile

Homero Urrutia
Laboratorio de Biopeliculas y Microbiologia Ambiental
Centro de Biotecnología
Universidad de Concepción
Concepción, Chile

Germán Aroca*
Escuela de Ingeniería Bioquímica
Facultad de Ingeniería
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
Valparaíso, Chile

*Corresponding author

Keywords: biofiltration, odour removal, volatile sulphur reduced compounds.

Abstract    

Reduced volatile sulphur compounds generate an impact on the environment, because of the bad smell and its low odour threshold. Compared with the existing physicochemical technologies for their elimination, biotrickling filters are an economically and environmentally sustainable alternative. Usually mixed cultures of microorganisms are used for inoculating biotrickling filters, in this case a pure culture of Thiobacillus thioparus is used for generating a biofilm, allowing to measure its capacity for the oxidation of four volatile reduced sulphur compounds: hydrogen sulphide, dimethyl sulphide, methyl mercaptan and dimethyl disulphide, using a residence time of 0.033 [h]. The viable cells of the biofilm were quantified by epifluorescence microscopy, staining the cells with ethidium bromide and acridine orange, polymerase chain reaction analysis in real time was used for testing the predominance of T. thiopharus in the biofilm. The microorganism was able to adhere and grow on the surface of rings made of polyethylene, with a viable population of 7·107 [cell·ring-1], a 74% of total cells. The real time PCR showed a persistence of the population of T. thioparus for more than 300 [days] of operation, without being displaced by other microbial species. The maximum elimination capacities for each compound were 34.4; 21.8; 30.8 and 25.6 [gS·m-3·h-1] for H2S, DMS, DMDS and MM, respectively. We conclude that it is possible to implement a biotrickling filter with the bacteria T. thioparus, which can oxidize volatile reduced sulphur compounds efficiently.

Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network