Isolation of Thiobacillus spp. and its application in the removal of heavy metals from activated sludge

Abstract

Two strains of Thiobacillus isolated from native excess activated sludge were identified as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and physiological-biochemical characteristics. Single and mixed cultures of the strains were used to carry out bioleaching for 9 days in order to remove heavy metals from activated sludge. The changes in pH, oxidation-reduction potential, and contents of heavy metals were measured. The results show that the bioleaching effect of the mixed culture was best in all runs, and that the final removals of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn were 96.09, 93.47, 98.32, 97.88, and 98.60%, respectively, whereas the removals of Cd and Pb decreased rapidly after six days. In addition, we demonstrate for the first time that bioleaching can reduce the pathogenicity of sludge by detecting fecal coliforms before and after bioleaching in order to ensure that the sludge was suitable for agricultural land application.

Key words: Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, excess activated sludge, removing heavy metals, sludge pathogenicity.