Dissimilatory sulfate reduction in anaerobic aqueous systems

This research presents stoichiometric and kinetic data describing the consumption of substrate and sulfate in pure and mixed microbial cultures. Data were obtained for pure cultures of Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Escherichia coli in the presence of glucose and lactate. Lactate and sulfate were consumed in a stoichiometric ratio of 2:1 by D. vulgaris in both pure and mixed culture. The mixed culture experiment simulates the microbial interactions that lead to crown corrosion in sewers and to "sour" conditions in anaerobic digesters. A novel approach for sulfide control by oxidation with granular manganese dioxide was studied. In a cell free system, the reaction proceeded on a first order basis over the course of one half-life. Heterogeneous cultures of sulfate-reducers were grown in the presence and absence of granular manganese dioxide. Examination of the differential sulfide yield suggests that neither the rate nor the order of the reaction is altered