Hydrogen sulphide biology

Einarsen, A.M., A. Aesoey, A.-I. Rasmussen, S. Bungum, and M. Sveberg (2000), Biological prevention and removal of hydrogen sulphide in sludge at Lillehammer Wastewater Treatment Plant, Water Sci. Tech., 41(6), 175-182. 

Sulphates are transported into the seas and oceans directly from the atmosphere and from surface waters. One third of sulphates in surface waters comes from the soil and rocks, two thirds from the atmosphere. As compared to the amount in surface water, sulphur is present in sea water in concentrations higher by a factor of 240. In coastal waters, which are characterized by a remarkable input of sulphur, the biological reduction occurs with a simultaneous H2S release. This gas escapes into the atmosphere, when a mud layer is exposed in the course of the tidal variation. Since the process also occurs in the depths of seas, hydrogen sulphide reacts with the iron compounds present, producing sulphides, which are deposited continuously in sea sediments. 

Hydrogen sulphide — chemical oxidation, biological treatment, aeration... 

The biochemical pathways for reducing organic matter in the liquid phase are complex and not well known [13]. The transformation of undissociated acetic acid HAc to carbondioxide CO2 and methane CH4 can be regarded as the bottle neck of the metabolism [4]. Furthermore the sulphuric acid S04 is biologically transformed into hydrogen sulphide H2S. Undissociated... 

Iverson, W. P., Olson, O. J., and Heverly, L. F., The Role of Phosphorous and Hydrogen Sulphide in the Anaerobic Corrosion of Iron and the Possible Detection of this Corrosion by an Electrochemical Noise Technique, Proceedings, Biologically Induced Corrosion, S. C. Dexter, Ed., NACE-8, National Association of Corrosion Engineers, Houston, TX, 1986, p. 154. 

Attack by the excretion of mineral or organic acids of a biological source such as hydrated hydrogen sulphide gas (by SRB, for example) or nitric acid (by, for instance, nitrifying bacteria) that results in hydrolysis of the material... 

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