Continuous single-stage elemental sulfur reduction and copper sulfide precipitation under thermoacidophilic conditions

Adrian Hidalgo-Ulloa*, Charlotte M. van der Graaf, Irene Sanchez-Andrea, Cees J.N. Buisman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Metal sulfide precipitation is a viable technology for high-yield metal recovery from hydrometallurgical streams, with the potential to streamline the process design. A single-stage elemental sulfur (S0)-reducing and metal sulfide precipitating process can optimize the operational and capital costs associated with this technology, boosting the competitiveness of this technology for wider industrial application. However, limited research is available on biological sulfur reduction at high temperature and low pH, frequent conditions of hydrometallurgical process waters. Here we assessed the sulfidogenic activity of an industrial granular sludge previously shown to reduce S0 under hot (60–80 °C) and acidic conditions (pH 3.6). A 4 L gas-lift reactor was operated for 206 days and fed continuously with culture medium and copper. During the reactor operation, we explored the effect of the hydraulic retention time, copper loading rates, temperature, and H2 and CO2 flow rates on the volumetric sulfide production rates (VSPR). A maximum VSPR of 274 ± 6 mg·L−1·d−1 was reached, a 3.9-fold increase of the VSPR previously reported with this inoculum in batch operation. Interestingly, the maximum VSPR was achieved at the highest copper loading rates. At the maximum copper loading rate (509 mg·L−1·d−1), a 99.96% copper removal efficiency was observed. 16 s rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed an increased abundance of reads assigned to Desulfurella and Thermoanaerobacterium in periods of higher sulfidogenic activity.

Original languageEnglish
Article number119948
Number of pages10
JournalWater Research
Volume236
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2023

Keywords

  • Autotrophic
  • Continuous
  • Elemental sulfur reduction
  • Metal sulfide precipitation
  • Thermoacidophilic

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