ARSENIC DETOXIFICATION BY P. ARSENICOXYDANS, USING BIOLOGICAL MINERALIZATON SYSTEM
Arsenic (As) is widely used in pesticide and wood preservative manufacturing, and is present in mining residues. Also, As could be found in nature, due to volcanic activity, forest fires and other natural phenomena, in soils, and surface and ground water. As is frequently found as arsenite [As(III)] or arsenate [As(V)]. The arsenite is 100 times more toxic than As(V). Conventional treatment processes for As-removal can remove about 80 %-95% arsenic from solutions, however operating costs are high. The cheaper and environmentally friendly options to oxidize and bio-mineralize As, such as biological treatments. Objective this work was to implement a system of biological treatment, using Bio-mineralization based on microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) technique, for the removal of arsenic from contaminated aquatic systems. A fluidized bed reactor was preformatted, using zeolite as support. P. arsenicoxydans, ureolytic bacteria and arsenic resistant, was used for this studies. The experiments were carried out in batch and continuous conditions. Growth kinetics were studied in the presence and absence of arsenite and curves were analysed through mathematical modelling approaches. Biofilm formation by P. arsenicoxydans on zeolite was analysed by SEM. Arsenite detoxification activity of this species was determined by HPLC/HG/AAS. P. arsenicoxydans biofilm formation on zeolite, in the presence or absence of As(III) in the medium, was monitored by SEM. After 24 h of incubation, with or without As(III), small cells were randomly distributed on the surface of zeolite, existing non-colonized spaces. After 72 h of incubation a mature biofilm, in the presence or absence of As(III), was observed. P. arsenicoxydans showed a high rate of As(III) transformation, particularly when immobilized oxidizes 100 % of arsenite present in the medium after 48 of incubation). The fluidized bed reactor, under continuous operation mode, using immobilized P. arsenicoxydans cells, was able to removal 100 % As in the medium after 15 h of operation, using MICP technique. The ability of biofilm formation, the high resistance to As(III) as well as its high oxidation capacity in the preliminarily study in a fluidized bed reactor, opens the way to further studies on P. arsenicoxydans aimed at implementing biological systems to treat arsenic rich wastewaters.