characterization of s-oxidizing biomass through respirometric techniques under anoxic and aerobic

208 Pages·2014·1.37 MB·English

School of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering

CHARACTERIZATION OF S-OXIDIZING
BIOMASS THROUGH RESPIROMETRIC
TECHNIQUES UNDER ANOXIC AND AEROBIC
CONDITIONS

PhD Thesis

Supervised by:
Dr. David Gabriel Buguña & Dr. Xavier Gamisans Noguera

MABEL MORA GARRIDO
Bellaterra, October 2014

DAVID GABRIEL BUGUÑA, professor agregat del Departament d’Enginyeria
Química de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, i XAVIER GAMISANS
NOGUERA, Catedràtic d’Escola Universitària,

CERTIFIQUEM:

Que l’enginyera química MARIA ISABEL MORA GARRIDO ha
realitzat sota la nostra direcció el treball titulat: “CHARACTERIZATION
OF S-OXIDIZING BIOMASS THROUGH RESPIROMETRIC
TECHNIQUES UNDER ANOXIC AND AEROBIC CONDITIONS”, el
qual es presenta en aquesta memòria i que constitueix la seva Tesi per a
optar al Grau de Doctor per la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

I perquè en prengueu coneixement i consti als efectes oportuns,
presentem a l’Escola d’Enginyeria de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
l’esmentada Tesi, signant el present certificat a

Bellaterra, 30 d’octubre de 2014

David Gabriel Buguña Xavier Gamisans Noguera

AAAA mmmmiiiissss áááánnnnggggeeeelllleeeessss ddddeeee llllaaaa gggguuuuaaaarrrrddddaaaa

CONTENTS
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Resum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
Resumen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
List of Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Chapter 1
MOTIVATIONS AND THESIS OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2
INTRODUCTION
Desulfurization of biogas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chemistry of hydrogen sulfide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Biological elemental sulfur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Biological sulfur metabolism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Respirometric and titrimetric techniques to characterize SOB . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 3
OBJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter 4
GENERAL MATERIALS AND METHODS

Description of equipments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Analytical techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 5
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANOXIC RESPIROMETRIC TECHNIQUE TO
CHARACTERIZE SO-NR MIXED CULTURES OBTAINED FROM
DESULFURIZING BIOTRICKLING FILTERS

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
SO-NR biomass cultivation
Respirometric methodology development
Experimental tests
Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Biomass growth yield calculation
Thiobacillus denitrificans pure culture
SO-NR mixed culture
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Chapter 6
COUPLING RESPIROMETRY AND TITRIMETRY TO INVESTIGATE THE
KINETICS OF THIOSULFATE-DRIVEN AUTOTROPHIC DENITRIFICATION
AND THE EFFECT OF NITRITE ACCLIMATION

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
SO-NR biomass
Respirometric and titrimetric tests
Proton production rate
Model development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Stoichiometry of thiosulfate-driven autotrophic denitrification
Modeling nitrite reduction
Modeling two-step denitrification
Parameters estimation
Fisher information matrix
Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Stoichiometric coefficients
Denitritation kinetics
Calibration of two-step denitrification model
Kinetic assessment of biomass nitrite acclimation
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 7
KINETIC AND STOICHIOMETRIC CHARACTERIZATION OF ANOXIC
SULFIDE OXIDATION BY SO-NR MIXED CULTURES OBTAINED FROM
ANOXIC BIOTRICKLING FILTERS

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
S-oxidizing biomass
Respirometric tests
Carbon source and substrate stripping
Kinetic model
Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Assessment of the SO-NR cultivation in a CSTR
Characterization of sulfide and CO stripping
2
Kinetic analysis of sulfide and nitrite inhibitions
Sulfide oxidation using nitrate as the electron acceptor
Sulfide oxidation using nitrite as the electron acceptor
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Chapter 8
PRELIMINARY STUDY ON LFS RESPIROMETRY APPLICATION TO
CHARACTERIZE SULFIDE, ELEMENTAL SULFUR AND THIOSULFATE
OXIDATION KINETICS AND STOICHIOMETRY UNDER AEROBIC
CONDITIONS BY SOB

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
SOB cultivation and biomass growth yield calculation
Characterization of H S stripping and chemical oxidation
2
LFS respirometric tests
Model development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Sulfide biological oxidation
Thiosulfate production and biodegradation
Elemental sulfur biological oxidation
Oxygen uptake rate
Parameters estimation
Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Assessment of SOB cultivation in a CSTR
H S stripping characterization
2
Chemical oxidation of sulfide
Biological sulfide oxidation mechanisms
Stoichiometry of the process
Kinetic model calibration
Validation of the kinetic model
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 9
STUDY ON THE APPLICATION OF HETEROGENEOUS RESPIROMETRY TO
CHARACTERIZE H S OXIDIZING BIOFILM FROM DESULFURIZING
2
BIOTRICKLING FILTERS

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Materials and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Immobilized S-oxidizing biomass cultivation
Experimental approach of the heterogeneous respirometry
Experimental determinations in the packed bed
Mathematical model development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Mass balance for the gas phase
Mass balance for the liquid phase
Mass balance for the biofilm
Microbial kinetic model
Stoichiometry of H S oxidation
2
Model parameters estimation
Results and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Biomass cultivation
Abiotic tests
Biotic tests: estimation of kinetic parameters
Assessment of the rate controlling step
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Chapter 10
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Chapter 11
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171