title: A review of biological sulfate conversions in wastewater treatment.
abstract: Treatment of waters contaminated with sulfur containing compounds (S) resulting from seawater intrusion, the use of seawater (e.g. seawater flushing, cooling) and industrial processes has become a challenging issue since around two thirds of the world's population live within 150 km of the coast. In the past, research has produced a number of bioengineered systems for remediation of industrial sulfate containing sewage and sulfur contaminated groundwater utilizing sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB). The majority of these studies are specific with SRB only or focusing on the microbiology rather than the engineered application. In this review, existing sulfate based biotechnologies and new approaches for sulfate contaminated waters treatment are discussed. The sulfur cycle connects with carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, thus a new platform of sulfur based biotechnologies incorporating sulfur cycle with other cycles can be developed, for the removal of sulfate and other pollutants (e.g. carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and metal) from wastewaters. All possible electron donors for sulfate reduction are summarized for further understanding of the S related biotechnologies including rates and benefits/drawbacks of each electron donor. A review of known SRB and their environmental preferences with regard to bioreactor operational parameters (e.g. pH, temperature, salinity etc.) shed light on the optimization of sulfur conversion-based biotechnologies. This review not only summarizes information from the current sulfur conversion-based biotechnologies for further optimization and understanding, but also offers new directions for sulfur related biotechnology development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Tian-wei
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Peng-yu
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Hamish R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Mackey
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.affiliation: SYSU-HKUST Joint Research Centre for Innovative Environmental Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Ho-kwong
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Chui
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 67, 2628 BC, Delft, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Mark C M
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: van Loosdrecht
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong; SYSU-HKUST Joint Research Centre for Innovative Environmental Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: ceghchen@ust.hk.
authors.forename: Guang-Hao
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry; D013431:Sulfates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D013431:Sulfates; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: SRB operation condition; Sulfate reduction; Sulfur conversion biotechnology; Wastewater treatment