Methane oxidation coupled to perchlorate reduction in a membrane biofilm batch reactor

Pan-Long Lv; Ling-Dong Shi; Zhen Wang; Bruce Rittmann; He-Ping Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.330

Methane oxidation coupled to perchlorate reduction in a membrane biofilm batch reactor

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Jun 1:667:9-15. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.330. Epub 2019 Feb 23.

Authors

Pan-Long Lv¹, Ling-Dong Shi¹, Zhen Wang¹, Bruce Rittmann², He-Ping Zhao³

Affiliations

¹ College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Province Key Lab Water Pollut Control & Envi, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
² Biodesign Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701, USA.
³ College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Zhejiang Province Key Lab Water Pollut Control & Envi, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; MOE Key Lab of Environmental Remediation and Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: zhaohp@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 30825823
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.02.330

Abstract

A specially designed CH₄-based membrane biofilm batch reactor (MBBR) was applied to investigate anaerobic methane oxidation coupled to perchlorate reduction (AnMO-PR). The 0.21 mM ClO₄^- added in the first stage of operation was completely reduced in 28 days, 0.40 mM ClO₄^- was reduced within 23 days in stage 2, and 0.56 mM of ClO₄^- was reduced within 30 days in stage 3. Although some chlorate (ClO₃^-) accumulated, the recovery of Cl^- was over 92%. Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene documented that the bacterial community was mainly composed by perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB), methanotrophic bacteria, and archaea. Real-time quantitative PCR showed the archaeal 16S rRNA and mcrA genes increased as more ClO₄^- was reduced, and the predominant archaea belonged to Methanosarcina mazei, which is related to ANME-3, an archaeon able to perform reverse methanogenesis. Several pieces of evidence support that ClO₄^- reduction by the MBBR biofilm occurred via a synergism between Methanosarcina and PRB: Methanosarcina oxidized methane through reverse methanogesis and provided electron donor for PRB to reduce ClO₄^-. Because methanotrophs were present, we cannot rule out that they also were involved in AnMO-PR if they received O₂ generated by disproportionation of ClO₂^- from the PRB.

Keywords: Archaea; Bacteria; Membrane-biofilm batch reactor; Methane oxidation; Perchlorate reduction.

MeSH terms

Biofilms*
Bioreactors*
High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
Membranes, Artificial
Methane / metabolism*
Methanosarcina / physiology*
Oxidation-Reduction
Perchlorates / metabolism*
Phylogeny
RNA, Archaeal / analysis
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / analysis
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Waste Disposal, Fluid*

Substances

Membranes, Artificial
Perchlorates
RNA, Archaeal
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Methane