Bioremediation of copper-containing wastewater by sulfate reducing bacteria coupled with iron

In order to treat copper-containing wastewater effectively using sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), iron (Fe-0) was added to enhance the activity of SRB. The SRB system and the SRB + Fe-0 system were operated under continuous operation. The sulfate reduction efficiency of the SRB + Fe-0 system was twice as much as that of the SRB system with the sulfate loading rate at 125 mg L-1 h(-1). The effect of COD/SO42- on sulfate reduction indicates an enhanced activity of SRB by adding Fe-0.99% of total sulfate was deducted in both systems at pH 4.0-7.0, and temperature slightly influenced the removal of sulfate in the SRB + Fe-0 system. In the copper-containing wastewater treatment, the SRB + Fe-0 system shows a better performance since sulfate removal in this system was higher than the SRB system, and the removal ratio of Cu2+ was held above 95% in SRB + Fe-0 system at all influent Cu2+ concentrations. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.