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Objective & Scope
1. Characterization of ferrous iron oxidation by iron-oxidizing bacteria 2. Development of efficient bioreactor for ferrous iron oxidation 3. Optimization of reactor operation condition Main Contents Biological oxidation of ferrous iron is a well-researched area in the bioleaching and in the treatment of acid mine drainage. A variety of iron oxidizing bacteria have been isolated from acidic mine drainage or places where an ore body is naturally exposed to water and the atmosphere. The iron oxidizing bacteria found in these 'natural', ambient temperature conditions are ubiquitous and the most of them have been characterized as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferroxidans. The former has been well studied for ferrous iron oxidation than the latter. Microbial oxidation of ferrous iron may be a viable alternative method of producing ferric sulfate, which is a reagent used for removal of H2S from biogas. For practical use of this process, this study was focused on improving the rate and efficiency of ferrous iron oxidation by iron-oxidizing bacteria. Performances of various bioreactor systems were compared with that of continuous stirred tank reactor with recycling tank used as a control. Submerged-membrane bioreactor and immobilized bioreactor systems were used to increase the cell concentration and to shorten the hydraulic retention time. In the immobilized bioreactor system, various carrier matrices such as granular activated carbon, polyurethane foam, and honeycomb-type ceramics were tested with respect to the hold-up of biomass which determines the reactor performance. Among them, the polyurethane foam was found to be the most suitable matrix for continuous biological ferrous iron oxidation process. |
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