Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria

Pipelines—oil, gas, water, wastewater Internal corrosion primarily at the bottom (6 00) position Dead ends and stagnant areas Low points in long-distance pipes Waste pipes—internal corrosion at the liquid/air interface Buried pipelines—on the exterior of the pipe, especially in wet clay environments under disbonded coating Aerobic and anaerobic acid producers, SRB, manganese and iron-oxidizing bacteria, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria... 

Health nd SMety Factors. The lowest pubhshed human oral toxic dose is 430 mg/kg, causing nervous system disturbances and gastrointestinal symptoms. The LD q (rat, oral) is 750 mg/kg (183). Thiocyanates are destroyed readily by soil bacteria and by biological treatment systems in which the organisms become acclimatized to thiocyanate. Pyrolysis products and combustion products can include toxic hydrogen cyanide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides. 

A large proportion (30-90% in tropical waters) is absorbed by bacteria and oxidized to FfjS in order to allow the sulfur to be used by these organisms. Once in the atmosphere, DMS is oxidized by various free radicals such as hydroxyl and nitrate ions. In the presence of low concentrations of NO the hydroxyl reaction... 

Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacteria. These are aerobic bacteria that oxidize sulfur or sulfur-bearing compounds to sulfuric acid according to the following equation ... 

H2S- S-S20i- ->SO ) bacteria, some cyanobacteria Chemoautotrophic sulfur oxidizers... 

This key enzyme of the dissimilatory sulfate reduction was isolated from all Desulfovibrio strains studied until now 135), and from some sulfur oxidizing bacteria and thermophilic Archaea 136, 137). The enzymes isolated from sulfate-reducing bacteria contain two [4Fe-4S] clusters and a flavin group (FAD) as demonstrated by visible, EPR, and Mossbauer spectroscopies. With a total molecular mass ranging from 150 to 220 kDa, APS reductases have a subunit composition of the type 012)32 or 02)3. The subunit molecular mass is approximately 70 and 20 kDa for the a and )3 subunits, respectively. Amino-acid sequence data suggest that both iron-sulfur clusters are located in the (3 subunit... 

A simplification of the polarization resistance technique is the linear polarization technique in which it is assumed that the relationship between E and i is linear in a narrow range around E . Usually only two points ( , 0 are measured and B is assumed to have a constant value of about 20 mV. This approach is used in field tests and forms the basis of commercial corrosion rate monitors. Rp can also be determined as the dc limit of the electrochemical impedance. Mansfeld et al. used the linear polarization technique to determine Rp for mild steel sensors embedded in concrete exposed to a sewer environment for about 9 months. One sensor was periodically flushed with sewage in an attempt to remove the sulfuric acid produced by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria within a biofilm another sensor was used as a control. A data logging system collected Rp at 10-min intervals simultaneously for the two corrosion sensors and two pH electrodes placed at the concrete surface. Figure 2 shows the cumulative corrosion loss (Z INT) obtained by integration of the MRp time curves as ... 

Cork [283], Sublette [284], and others have identified a number of chemolithotrophic bacteria which oxidize elemental sulfur and use reduced or partially reduced sulfur compounds as an energy source, in the presence of various carbon sources (such as carbon dioxide or bicarbonate) and reduced nitrogen (e.g., ammonium ion). In the case of Cork et al. s work, the anaerobic photosynthetic bacterium Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum is used to convert sulfides to sulfate. The economics of this process was not favorable due to the requirement of light for the growth of the bacterium. 

Their activities in desulfurization lead to a hybrid process, protected under the title of Method for electrobiologically desulfurizing petroleum [143], awarded to the Marine Biotechnology Institute by the Japanese Patent Office [143], This method is based on contacting anaerobic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria with petroleum under anaerobic condition or microaerophilic conditions. The bacteria used belonged to Proteobacteria or Thiomicrospira bacteria. 

Disulfides have also removed the activity of certain proteins in bacteria. The bacterium Paracoccus panto-us has a cluster of enzymes responsible for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfate known as the sulfur-oxidizing... 

Peck s hrst signihcant contribution was to look at Thiobacillus thioparus (the type species of the genus Thiobacillus) through the eyes of one who knew a lot about sulfate-reducing bacteria and about the enzymes involved in sulfate metabolism in yeast and mammalian tissues. This led him to think maybe the same enzymes are involved in sulfur oxidation as in reduction. The seminal paper of 1960 showed that this was indeed the case. 

Kelly DP. 1999. Thermodynamic aspects of energy conservation by chemolithotrophic sulfur bacteria in relation to the sulfur oxidation pathways. Arch Microbiol 171 219-29. 

A special case represents acid sulfate waters released from mines where metal sulfide ores and lignite have been exploited. S- and 0-isotope data may define the conditions and processes of pyrite oxidation, such as the presence or absence of dissolved oxygen and the role of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (i.e. Taylor and Wheeler 1994). 

However, in contrast to the cyclic flow of electrons in purple bacteria, some electrons flow from the reaction center to an iron-sulfur protein, ferredoxin, which then passes electrons via ferredoxin NAD reductase to NAD+, producing NADH. The electrons taken from the reaction center to reduce NAD+ are replaced by the oxidation of H2S to elemental S, then to SOf, in the reaction that defines the green sulfur bacteria. This oxidation of H2S by bacteria is chemically analogous to the oxidation of H20 by oxygenic plants. 

The sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Anaerobic conditions prevail in marine sediments, in poorly stirred swamps, and around hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the sea. Sulfate-reducing bacteria form high concentrations (up to mM) of H2S (in equilibrium with HS and s2-)318-320 This provides the substrate for bacteria of the genus Thiobacillus, which are able to oxidize sulfide, elemental sulfur, thiosulfate, and sulfite to sulfate and live where the aerobic and anaerobic regions meet.311 321-323 Most of these small gram-negative... 

Since the reduction potential for the Fe(II) / Fe(III) couple is + 0.77 V at pH 7, the energy obtainable in this reaction is small. These bacteria always oxidize reduced sulfur compounds, too. Especially interesting is their oxidation of pyrite, ferrous sulfide (Eq. 18-24). The Gibbs energy change was calculated from published data325 using a value of Gf° for Fe (OH)3 of... 

Oxidation of sulfide will affect rates of sulfate reduction only if sulfate is the end product of such oxidation. Many compounds with oxidation states intermediate between sulfide and sulfate may be formed instead. Although many details of the oxidation pathways remain to be clarified, evidence suggests that sulfate is formed. Oxidation of sulfide by phototrophic microorganisms results in production of elemental sulfur, sulfate, or polythionates (e.g., 171). Members of each of the three families of phototrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are capable of carrying the oxidation all the way to sulfate elemental sulfur and polythionates are intermediates that are stored until lower concentrations of sulfide are encountered (131, 171). Colorless sulfur... 

Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of bioleached shale, which has been leached with the acid produced by sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, have revealed a pitted, spongy-appearing surface texture. Bioleaching removes primarily the carbonate minerals, such as dolomite and calcite, which are apparently deposited in pits throughout the rest of the mineral matrix. The removal of the carbonate would be expected to increase the porosity of the raw shale. Since the results of SEM reveal only the surface... 

Hydrogen ion concentration (pH) was the second criterion by which growth of the bacilli was established. Sulfuric acid is a natural metabolic by-product of sulfur oxidation by the acidophillic Thiobacillus thiooxidans (5). As sulfur is used, acid is built-up in the medium thus lowering the pH. Studies in this laboratory have shown that the bacteria grow well in a pH as low as 0.5. 

The model was designed to study the ability of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria to use the organically bound sulfur as substrate. The symmetry of the sulfides provided an insight into the sulfur abstracting prowess of T. thiooxidans. 

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