Sulfate-reducing conditions

The manner in which many of these bacteria cany on their chemical processes is qmte comphcated and in some cases not fuUy understood. The role of sulfate-reducing bacteria (anaerobic) in promoting corrosion has been extensively investigated. The sulfates in shghtly acid to alkaline (pH 6 to 9) soils are reduced by these bacteria to form calcium sulfide and hydrogen sulfide. When these compounds come in contact with underground iron pipes, conversion of the iron to iron sulfide occurs. As these bacieria thrive under these conditions, they will continue to promote this reaction until failure of the pipe occurs. 

These bacteria are anaerobic. They may survive but not actively grow when exposed to aerobic conditions. They occur in most natural waters including fresh, brackish, and sea water. Most soils and sediments contain sulfate reducers. Sulfate or sulfite must be present for active growth. The bacteria may tolerate temperatures as high as about 176°F (80°C) and a pH from about 5 to 9. 

Scale deposits create conditions for concentration-cell corrosion as they do not form uniformly over the metal surface. Sulfate-reducing bacteria thrive under these deposits, producing hydrogen sulfide and, consequently, increasing the rate of corrosion. Due to the following factors, the drilling fluid environment is ideal for scale deposition [189]. These factors are as follows ... 

Light, sandy, well-drained soil of high electrical resistivity is low in corrosivity and coated steel or bare stainless steels can be employed. It is unlikely that the whole pipe run would be in the same type of soil. In heavier or damp soils, or where the quality of back filling cannot be guaranteed, there are two major corrosion risks. Steel, copper alloys and most stainless steels are susceptible to sulfide attack brought about by the action of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the soil. SRB are ubiquitous but thrive particularly well in the anaerobic conditions which persist in compacted soil, especially clay. The mechanism of corrosion where SRB are involved is described in Section... 

Aeckersberg F, FA Rainey, F Widdel (1998) Growth, natural relationships, cellular fatty acids and metabolic adaptation of sulfate-reducing bacteria that utilize long-chain alkanes under anoxic conditions. Arch Microbiol 170 361-369. 

Edwards EA, LE Williams, M Reinhard, D Grbic-Galic (1992) Anaerobic degradation of toluene and xylene by aquifer microrganisms under sulfate-reducing conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 58 ... 

Rabus R, R Nordhaus, W Ludwig, F Widdel (1993) Complete oxidation of toluene under strictly anoxic conditions by a new sulfate-reducing bacterium. Appl Environ Microbiol 59 1444-1451. 

The fumarate pathway for the metabolism of alkanes under sulfate-reducing conditions was examined using fully deuterated hexadecane (Callaghan et al. 2006). Identification of the metabolites including labeled methylpentadecylsuccinate and 4-methyloctadecanoate... 

Callaghan AV, LM Gieg, KG Kropp, JM Suflita, LY Young (2006) Comparison of mechanisms of alkane metabolism under sulfate-reducing conditions among two bacterial isolates and a bacterial consortium. Appl Environ Microbiol 72 4274-4282. 

There is evidence for the anaerobic degradation of alkanes to COj, plausibly under conditions of sulfate reduction. In experiments with sediment slurries from contaminated marine areas, was recovered from " C-hexadecane (Coates et al. 1997), and was inhibited by molybdate that is consistent with the involvement of sulfate reduction. Under sulfate-reducing conditions was produced from C[14,15]octacosane (CagHjg) (Caldwell et al. 1998). Different mechanisms have been elucidated for the anaerobic degradation of higher alkanes, and both occurred simultaneously in a sulfate-reducing consortium (Callaghan et al. 2006) ... 

Caldwell ME, RM Garrett, RC Prince, JM Suflita (1998) Anaerobic biodegradation of long-chain -alkanes under sulfate-reducing conditions. Environ Sci Technol 32 2191-2195. 

Hirschler A, J-F Rontani, D Raphel, R Matheron, J-C Bertrand (1998) Anaerobic degradation of hexadecan-2-one by a microbial enrichment culture under sulfate-reducing conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 64 1576-1579. 

The pathways for the degradation of toluene and xylene under denitrifying and sulfate-reducing conditions have been studied most extensively, and they take place by reactions quite different from those used by aerobic bacteria. As an example, two anaerobes affiliated with known sulfate-reducing bacteria isolated from enrichments with crude oil were able to grow at the expense of a number of alkylated benzenes—strain oXySl with toluene, o-xylene, and o-ethyltoluene and strain mXySl with toluene, m-xylene, and m-ethyltoluene (Harms et al. 1999). 

Coates JD, RT Anderson, DR Lovley (1996) Oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under sulfate-reducing conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 62 1099-1101. 

The metabolism of phenols under anaerobic conditions has been examined under denitrifying, sulfate-reducing, Fe (lll)-reducing, and anaerobic nonmethanogenic conditions. It is plausible to suggest a common pathway that has been elucidated for denitrifying bacteria. This comprises (a) activation of phenol by the formation of phenylphosphate, (b) carboxylation at a position para to... 

In Hg-resistant bacteria that are resistant to organic forms of Hg such as phenylmercuric acetate and methylmercury chloride, lyases are involved in the fission of the C-Hg to form Hg + and benzene or methane, and the enzyme has been partly purified (Schottel 1978). The Hg + may then be reduced to nontoxic Hg°. The situation under anaerobic conditions for sulfate-reducing bacteria is complicated by the possibility of both methylation and demethylation in the same strain (Pak and Bartha 1998), plausibly by operation of the acetyl-CoA pathway (Choi et al. 1994 Ekstrom et al. 2003). Under anaerobic conditions, demethylation, though not methylation, has been reported for a methanogen (Pak and Bartha 1998). 

There has been considerable interest in the anaerobic metabolism of methane in the large reservoirs that lie beneath the seafloor, since little of this reaches the oxic conditions in the water column. Consortia of archaea that have so far resisted isolation and sulfate-reducing bacteria have been implicated (Orphan et al. 2002) ... 

In laboratory enrichments with MTBE nnder both methanogenic and sulfate-reducing conditions, carbon enrichment of 14.4 0.7 ppm was found (Somsamak et al. 2006), and in a methanogenic enrichment -14 4.5 ppm for tert-amyl methyl ether (Somsamak et al. 

Somsamak P, HH Richnow, MM Haggblom (2006) Carbon isotope fractionation during anaerobic degradation of methyl tert-butyl ether under sulfate-reducing and methanogenic conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 72 1157-1163. 

At many sites, the subsurface environment will be anoxic or even anaerobic due to the activity of aerobic and facultatively anaerobic bacteria in the surface layers of the soil. It is therefore essential to take into consideration the extent to which anaerobic degradation may be expected to be significant. Reactions may take place under sulfidogenic or methanogenic conditions, and the occurrence of sulfate at sites containing building material waste and the metabolic versatility of sulfate-reducing bacteria makes them particularly attractive. 

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