Sulfur-based Mixotrophic Vanadium (V) Bio-reduction towards Lower Organic Requirement and Sulfate Accumulation

We re-evaluated PCR primers targeting nirS, nirK and nosZ genes for denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis as a tool to survey denitrifying community composition in environmental samples. New primers for both nirS and nosZ were combined with existing primers, while for nirK the previously published F1aCu:R3Cu set was chosen for denaturing electrophoresis. All three sets yielded amplicons smaller than 500 bp and amplified the correct fragment in all environmental samples. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis worked satisfactorily for nirK and nosZ, but not for nirS. This was probably due to the multiple melting domains in this particular nirS fragment. From the excised and sequenced bands, only sequences related to the target genes were detected and tree analysis showed that the selected primers acted as broad range primers for each of the three genes. By use of the new nirS primers it was demonstrated that agricultural soil harbours a substantial diversity of nirS denitrifiers.

Metal contaminated wastewater posts great health and environmental concerns, but it also provides opportunities for precious metal recovery, which may potentially make treatment processes more cost-effective and sustainable. Conventional metal recovery technologies include physical, chemical and biological methods, but they are generally energy and chemical intensive. The recent development of bioelectrochemical technology provides a new approach for efficient metal recovery, because it offers a flexible platform for both oxidation and reduction reaction oriented processes. While dozens of recent studies demonstrated the feasibility of the bioelectrochemical metal recovery concept, the mechanisms have been different and confusing. This study provides a review that summarizes and discusses the different fundamental mechanisms of metal conversion, with the aim of facilitating the scientific understanding and technology development. While the general approach of bioelectrochemical metal recovery is using metals as the electron acceptor in the cathode chamber and organic waste as the electron donor in the anode chamber, there are so far four mechanisms that have been reported: (1) direct metal recovery using abiotic cathodes; (2) metal recovery using abiotic cathodes supplemented by external power sources; (3) metal conversion using bio-cathodes; and (4) metal conversion using bio-cathodes supplemented by external power sources.