Characterisation of the Complex Microbial Community Associated with the ASTER™ Thiocyanate Biodegradation System
Journal Article
2015-05-15
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Journal Title
Minerals Engineering
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Series
Abstract
The ASTER™ process is used to bioremediate cyanide- (CN-) and thiocyanate- (SCN-)
13 containing waste water. This aerobic process is able to reduce the CN- and SCN14
concentrations to below 1 mg/L efficiently in a continuous system, facilitating reuse of
15 process water or safe discharge. Such remediation systems, which completely eliminate risk
16 associated with the pollutants, are essential for sustainable mineral processing and the long
17 term minimisation of environmental burden through both pollutant destruction and exploiting
18 opportunities for nutrient recycle. Process robustness of these bioremediation options can be
19 enhanced by good understanding of the microbial community involved in the process. To
20 date, the microbial consortia associated with the ASTER™ bioprocess have been poorly
21 characterised using isolation approaches only. As a result, the relative abundance and
22 diversity of the community has been significantly under-represented. In this study, both
planktonic and biofilm-associated biomass have been observed. 23 Microscopy has revealed the
24 diversity of these communities, including bacteria, motile eukaryotes, filamentous fungi and
25 algae, with the biofilm densely packed with microorganisms. The results of the molecular
26 characterisation study reported here, using a clone library approach, demonstrate that the
27 microbial community associated with the ASTER™ bioprocess system is far more complex
28 than previously suggested, with over 30 bacterial species identified thus far. On-going
29 investigations focus on identification of key microbial community members associated with
30 SCN- biodegradation and other critical metabolic functions, as well as the expected dynamic
31 response of this complex microbial community to shifts in the operating window of the
32 process.
Description
Reference:
Huddy RJ, van Zyl AW, van Hille RP, Harrison STL, Characterisation of the complex microbial community associated with the ASTER™ thiocyanate biodegradation system, Minerals Engineering, Volume 76, 15 May 2015, Pages 65-71