Comparison of the capacity of biological desulfurization of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans from different sulfur-containing substrates with or without additional ferrous iron

Thiobacillus ferrooxidans,abbreviated as T.ferrooxidans is one of the important microorganisms in the field of biological desulfurization.Effects of ferrous iron and sulfur-containing substrates on biological desulfurization of T.ferrooxidans were studied.Results show that in the absence of Fe^(2+),T.ferrooxidans can utilize three kinds of sulfur-containing substrates of Na_(2)S_(2)O_(3),elemental S and Na_(2)SO_(3) for growth and metabolism.For utilization complexity,Na_(2)S_(2)O_(3) was easiest to use,next was elemental S,and Na_(2)SO_(3) was the worst for use.During the utilization of ferrous iron and sulfur-containing substrates by T.ferrooxidans,the iron oxidation system was first started.With the decrease of the Fe^(2+)concentration,the sulfur oxidation system was started,and then the two systems synergistically acted.The presence of three sulfur-containing substrates had different effects on Fe^(2+)oxidation,and elemental S did not inhibit the oxidation of Fe^(2+),while Na_(2)S_(2)O_(3) and Na_(2)SO_(3) had some inhibition on the oxidation of Fe^(2+),especially the inhibition of Na_(2)SO_(3) was significant,and complete oxidation of ferrous iron needed more time.The isolated T.ferrooxidans is applied to the removal of H2S gas,aiming to provide a new technological approach for biological removal of H2S.