Desulphurization and denitrification of gas and liquid streams with concomitant generation of energy in microbial fuel cells

H2S是存在于天然气和沼气中的高毒性和腐蚀性气体。硫化物也是许多废水中不期望的组分。由于H2S的有害特性和防止燃料燃烧时SO2的排放，去除H2S是必不可少的。含硫化物河流的生物处理由于经济优势、处理小河流的可行性和高效率而具有吸引力。我们一直在调查的潜力Thiomicrospira CVO，一种新的硫化物氧化剂，从加拿大油田分离，从液体流中去除硫化物。CVO是一种以硫化物为电子供体、硝酸盐为电子受体、CO2为唯一碳源的自养生物。CVO的生理特性使其适用于同时去除污染河流中的硫化物和硝酸盐。当前提案的第一个目标是扩展我们正在进行的研究，并利用CVO从气流中去除H2S，并产生对大规模工艺的设计和操作至关重要的基础知识。作为一种可再生能源，微生物燃料电池发电的势头正在增强。该技术能够以电力的形式直接捕获可生物降解化合物中所含的能量，特别是废水中的能量。迄今为止，微生物燃料电池主要用于处理有机废水，只有少数研究涉及含硫化物的流。此外，在微生物燃料电池中同时脱硫和脱氮的可能性尚未被评估。本研究的第二个目的是研究微生物燃料电池中的脱硫和脱氮过程。在我们的研究中产生的基本信息将显着增加我们的理解的过程中的生物脱硫和脱氮和能源的程度，可以从这些过程中提取。它将为我们提供所需的基本信息，用于H2S和硝酸盐处理的创新生物技术的发展，捕获CO2和发电的燃料电池型生物反应器的可能性，我们的研究的长期目标。

H2S is a highly toxic and corrosive gas present in the natural gas and biogas. Sulphide is also an undesirable component of many wastewaters. Removal of H2S is essential due to its harmful characteristics and for preventing emission of SO2 upon combustion of fuels. Biotreatment of sulphide-laden streams is attractive due to economic advantages, feasibility for treatment of small streams and high efficiency. We have been investigating the potential of Thiomicrospira CVO, a novel sulphide oxidizer isolated from a Canadian oil field, for the removal of sulphide from the liquid streams. CVO is an autotroph which uses sulphide as an electron donor, nitrate as an electron acceptor and CO2 as the sole carbon source. Physiological characteristics of CVO make it suitable for simultaneous removal of sulphide and nitrate from contaminated streams. The first objective of the current proposal is to expand our ongoing research and utilize CVO for the removal of H2S from gaseous streams and generate fundamental knowledge which is crucial for the design and operation of a large scale process. Generation of electricity in microbial fuel cells as a form of renewable energy is gaining momentum. This technology enables direct capture of energy contained in biodegradable compounds, specially in wastewaters, in the form of electricity. To date microbial fuel cells have been used mainly for the treatment of organic wastewaters and only a few studies have dealt with sulphide-containing streams. Moreover, the possibility of simultaneous desulphurization and denitrification in a microbial fuel cell has not been evaluated. The second objective of the current proposal is to study the processes of desulphurization and denitrification in a microbial fuel cell. The basic information generated in our research would significantly increase our understanding of the processes of biodesulphurization and denitrification and the extent of energy which can be extracted from these processes. It will provide us with fundamental information required for the development of an innovative biotechnology for treatment of H2S and nitrate with the possibility of capturing CO2 and electricity generation in fuel cell type bioreactors, the long term objective of our research.