Effects of forced aeration on community dynamics of free and attached bacteria in copper sulphide ore bioleaching

Bacterial community dynamics and copper leaching with applied forced aeration were investigated during low-grade copper sulphide bioleaching to obtain better bioleaching efficiency.Results illustrated that appropriate aeration improved bacterial concentrations and leaching efficiencies.The highest bacterial concentration and Cu^(2+)concentration after 14-d leaching were 7.61×10^(7) cells·mL^(−1) and 704.9 mg·L^(−1),respectively,at aeration duration of 4 h·d^(−1).The attached bacteria played a significant role during bioleaching from 1 to 7 d.However,free bacteria dominated the bioleaching processes from 8 to 14 d.This phenomenon was mainly caused by the formation of passivation layer through Fe3+hydrolysis along with bioleaching,which inhibited the contact between the attached bacteria and ore.Meanwhile,16S rDNA analysis verified the effect of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans on the bioleaching process.The results demonstrate the importance of free and attached bacteria in bioleaching.

Particle size distribution and property of bacteria attached to carbon fines in drinking water treatment

The quantitative change and size distribution of particles in the effluents from a sand filter and a granular activated carbon （GAC） filter in a drinking water treatment plant were investigated. The average total concentration of particles in the sand filter effluent during a filter cycle was 148 particles/mL, 27 of which were larger than 2 μm in size. The concentration in the GAC effluent （561 particles/mL） was significantly greater than that in the sand filter effluent. The concentration of particles larger than 2 μm in the GAC filter effluent reached 201 particles/mL, with the amount of particles with sizes between 2 μm and 15 μm increasing. The most probable number （MPN） of carbon fines reached 43 unit/L after six hours and fines between 0.45 μm and 8.0 μm accounted for more than 50%. The total concentration of outflowing bacteria in the GAC filter effluent, 350 CFU （colony-forming units） /mL, was greater than that in the sand filter effluent, 210 CFU/mL. The desorbed bacteria concentration reached an average of 310 CFU/mg fines. The disinfection efficiency of desorbed bacteria was lower than 40% with 1.5 mg/L of chlorine. The disinfection effect showed that the inactivation rate with 2.0 mg/L of chloramine （90%） was higher than that with chlorine （70%）. Experimental results indicated that the high particle concentration in raw water and sedimentation effluent led to high levels of outflowing particles in the sand filter effluent. The activated carbon fines in the effluent accounted for a small proportion of the total particle amount, but the existing bacteria attached to carbon fines may influence the drinking water safety. The disinfection efficiency of desorbed bacteria was lower than that of free bacteria with chlorine, and the disinfection effect on bacteria attached to carbon fines with chloramine was better than that with only chlorine.

Responses of bacterial community to potential heap construction methods of fine-grained copper tailings in column bioleaching system

The column bioleaching of copper flotation tailings was comparatively investigated using layered heap construction method(LM),agglomerate heap construction method(AM),and pellets-sintering heap construction method(PM).The bacterial communities of free,attached,weakly-attached,and strongly-attached microbes in the later bioleaching stage were investigated.In AM group,the addition of lump sulphide ore resulted in the low leachate pH,high ferric iron concentration,and rapid microbial adsorption,which obtained the maximum copper extraction(60.1%)compared with LM(54.6%)and PM(43.9%)groups.The relative abundance of dominant genera and microbial communities of different microbiota underwent changes in three heap construction methods.The alpha-diversity indexes of attached,weakly-attached,and strongly-attached microbes were different,while no significant change was observed in free bacteria.The variation of whole bacterial community was significantly associated with solution pH,total iron,and ferric iron concentrations.Pearson correlation analysis and partial least square path model both indicated that attached bacteria made larger contribution to the copper extraction of tailings.

Transparent exopolymer particles(TEPs)-associated protobiofilm:A neglected contributor to biofouling during membrane filtration

Transparent exopolymer particles(TEPs)are a class of transparent gel-like polysaccharides,which have been widely detected in almost every kind of feed water to membrane systems,including freshwater,seawater and wastewater.Although TEP have been thought to be related to the membrane fouling,little information is currently available for their influential mechanisms and the pertinence to biofouling development.The present study,thus,aims to explore the impact of TEPs on biofouling development during ultrafiltration.TEP samples were inoculated with bacteria for several hours before filtration and the formation of“protobiofilm”(pre-colonized TEP by bacteria)was examined and its influence on biofouling was determined.It was observed that the bacteria can easily and quickly attach onto TEPs and form protobiofilms.Ultrafiltration experiments further revealed that TEP-protobiofilms served as carriers which facilitated and accelerated transport of bacteria to membrane surface,leading to rapid development of biofouling on the ultrafiltration membrane surfaces.Moreover,compared to the feed water containing independent bacteria and TEPs,more flux decline was observed with TEP-protobiofilms.Consequently,it appeared from this study that TEP-protobiofilms play a vital role in the development of membrane biofouling,but unfortunately,this phenomenon has been often overlooked in the literature.Obviously,these findings in turn may also challenge the current understanding of organic fouling and biofouling as membrane fouling caused by TEP-protobiofilm is a combination of both.It is expected that this study might promote further research in general membrane fouling mechanisms and the development of an effective mitigation strategy.