Using Anoxygenic Photosynthetic Bacteria for the Removal of Sulfide from Wastewater

Abstract

The removal of the malodorous, corrosive and toxic compound, sulfide, from liquid waste streams is an on-going problem faced by many municipalities and industrial plants. Several systems for the treatment of such waste using phototrophic bacteria have been proposed, and the majority of these reactors rely on green sulfur bacteria as the biological agent. This chapter sets out several criteria for the selection of suitable phototrophic bacteria for use in a biological sulfide removal (BSR) process. It also discusses issues such as the supply of light to these systems and the efficiency with which different phototrophic bacteria use the supplied light for sulfide removal in the context of the different existing BSR reactors. Directions for the future development of phototrophic BSR processes are given.