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Bacterial Reduction of Selenium in Coal Mine Tailings Pond Sediment
Author(s) -
Siddique Tariq,
Arocena Joselito M.,
Thring Ronald W.,
Zhang Yiqiang
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2006.0357
Subject(s) - enterobacter , tailings , klebsiella oxytoca , sediment , stenotrophomonas , environmental chemistry , effluent , bacteria , selenium , pseudomonas fluorescens , sulfur , food science , chemistry , biology , klebsiella pneumoniae , environmental engineering , environmental science , pseudomonas , escherichia coli , biochemistry , paleontology , genetics , organic chemistry , gene
Sediment from a storage facility for coal tailings solids was assessed for its capacity to reduce selenium (Se) by native bacterial community. One Se 6+ –reducing bacterium Enterobacter hormaechei (Tar11) and four Se 4+ –reducing bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae (Tar1), Pseudomonas fluorescens (Tar3), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Tar6), and Enterobacter amnigenus (Tar8) were isolated from the sediment. Enterobacter hormaechei removed 96% of the added Se 6+ (0.92 mg L −1 ) from the effluents when Se 6+ was determined after 5 d of incubation. Analysis of the red precipitates showed that Se 6+ reduction resulted in the formation of spherical particles (<1.0 μm) of Se 0 as observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and confirmed by EDAX. Selenium speciation was performed to examine the fate of the added Se 6+ in the sediment with or without addition of Enterobacter hormaechei cells. More than 99% of the added Se 6+ (∼2.5 mg L −1 ) was transformed in the nonsterilized sediment (without Enterobacter hormaechei cells) as well as in the sterilized (heat‐killed) sediment (with Enterobacter hormaechei cells). The results of this study suggest that the lagoon sediments at the mine site harbor Se 6+ – and Se 4+ –reducing bacteria and may be important sinks for soluble Se (Se 6+ and Se 4+ ). Enterobacter hormaechei isolated from metal‐contaminated sediment may have potential application in removing Se from industrial effluents.