• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1155-1160
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• 2012

Sulfur-utilizing autotrophic denitrification relies on an inorganic carbon source to reduce the nitrate by producing sulfuric acid as an end product and can be used for the treatment of wastewaters containing high levels of nitrates. In this study, sulfur-denitrifying bacteria were used in anoxic batch tests with sulfur as the electron donor and nitrate as the electron acceptor. Various medium components were tested under different conditions. Sulfur denitrification can drop the medium pH by producing acid, thus stopping the process half way. To control this mechanism, a 2:1 ratio of sulfur to oyster shell powder was used. Oyster shell powder addition to a sulfur-denitrifying reactor completely removed the nitrate. Using 50, 100, and 200 g of sulfur particles, reaction rate constants of 5.33, 6.29, and $7.96mg^{1/2}/l^{1/2}{\cdot}h$ were obtained, respectively; and using 200 g of sulfur particles showed the highest nitrate removal rates. For different sulfur particle sizes ranging from small (0.85-2.0 mm), medium (2.0-4.0 mm), and large (4.0-4.75 mm), reaction rate constants of 31.56, 10.88, and $6.23mg^{1/2}/l^{1/2}{\cdot}h$ were calculated. The fastest nitrate removal rate was observed for the smallest particle size. Addition of chemical oxygen demand (COD), methanol as the external carbon source, with the autotrophic denitrification in sufficiently alkaline conditions, created a balance between heterotrophic denitrification (which raises the pH) and sulfur-utilizing autotrophic denitrification, which lowers the pH.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.293-298
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• 2014

An anaerobic photosynthetic treatment process utilizing purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria (PNSB) was applied to the recovery of organic carbon from food processing wastewater. PNSB cells, by-product from the treatment, have high nutrition such as proteins and vitamins which are a good alternative for fish feed. Effects of light source on performance of anaerobic photosynthetic process were investigated in this study. Two bench-scale photo-bioreactors were lighted with infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs) and tungsten lamps covered with infrared transmitting filter, respectively, aiming to supply infrared light for photosynthetic bacteria growth. The photo-bioreactors were operated to treat noodle-processing wastewater for 323 days. Hydraulic retention time (HRT) was set as 6 days. Organic removals in the photo-bioreactor lighted with infrared LEDs (91%-95%) was found higher than those in photo-bioreactor with tungsten lamps with filter (79%-83%). Biomass production in a 150 L bench-scale photo-bioreactor was comparable to a 8 L small-scale photo-bioreactor in previous study, due to improvement of light supply efficiency. Application of infrared LEDs could achieve higher treatment performance with advantages in energy efficiency and wavelength specifity.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.409-414
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• 2006

Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were enumerated and isolated from a steady-state anaerobic master culture reactor (MCR) operated for over six months under a semi-continuous mode and nitrate-limiting conditions using thiosulfate as an electron donor. Most are Gram-negative bacteria, which have sizes up to 12 m. Strains AD1 and AD2 were isolated from the plate count agar (PCA), and strains BD1 and BD2 from the solid thiosulfate/nitrate medium. Based on the morphological, physiological, FAME and 16S rDNA sequence analyses, the two dominant strains, AD1 and AD2, were identified as Paracoccus denitrificans and Paracoccus versutus (formerly Thiobacillus versutus), respectively. From the physiological results, glucose was assimilated by both strains AD1 and AD2. Heterotrophic growth of strains AD1 and AD2 could be a more efficient way of obtaining a greater amount of biomass for use as an inoculum. Even though facultative autotrophic bacteria grow under heterotrophic conditions, autotrophic denitrification would not be reduced.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.32 no.9
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• pp.851-856
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• 2010

A sulfur utilizing nitrite denitrification process could be placed after the shortcut biological nitrogen removal (SBNR) process. In this study, removal of nitrite using sulfur oxidizing denitrifier was characterized in batch tests with granular elemental sulfur as an electron donor and nitrite as an electro acceptor. At sufficient alkalinity, initial nitrite nitrogen concentration of 100 mg/L was almost completely reduced in the batch reactor within a incubation time of 22 h. Sulfate production with nitrite was 4.8 g ${SO_4}^{2-}/g$ ${NO_2}^-$-N, while with nitrate 13.5 g ${SO_4}^{2-}/g$ ${NO_3}^-$-N. Under the conditions of low alkalinity, nitrite removal was over 95% but 15 h of a lag phase was shown. For nitrate with low alkalinity, no denitrification occurred. Sulfate production was 2.6 g ${SO_4}^{2-}/g$ ${NO_2}^-$-N and alkalinity consumption was 1.2 g $CaCO_3/g$ ${NO_2}^-$. The concentration range of organics used in this experiment did not inhibit autotrophic denitrification at both low and high alkalinity. This kind of method may solve the problems of autotrophic nitrate denitrification, i.e. high sulfate production and alkalinity deficiency, to some extent.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.221-226
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• 2010

Swine wastewater contains high amounts of organic matter and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). The biological nitrogen removal can be achieved by nitrification and denitrification processes. Nitrification-denitrification can be performed via nitrite which is called as the short-cut process. This Short-cut process saves up to 25% of oxygen and 40% of external carbon during nitrification and denitrification. In this study, the batch tests were conducted to assess the different parameters for the nitrite sulfur utilizing denitrification, such as alkalinity, temperature, initial nitrite concentration, and dissolved oxygen. The experimental results showed that the nitrite removal efficiency of the reactor was found to be over 95% under the optimum condition ($30^{\circ}C$ and sufficient alkalinity). Autotrophic nitrate denitrification was inhibited at low alkalinity condition showing only 10% removal efficiency, while nitrite denitrification was achieved over 95%. The nitrite removal rates were found similar at both $20^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$. In addition, nitrite removal efficiencies were inhibited by increasing oxygen concentration, but sulfate concentration increased due to sulfur oxidation under an aerobic condition. Sulfate production and alkalinity consumption were decreased with nitrite compared those with nitrate.