Microbial Consortia from Taptapani Hot Water Springs for Mining Effluent Treatment

Problem statement: Soluble sulfate load in effluent is a crucial problem from mining industries. The study involved isolation of efficient Sulfate Reducing Bacterial (SRB) consortium from hot water spring for bioremediatrion of sulfate contaminated waste water. Approach: The enriched bacterial consortium was isolated in medium DSMZ 16695. The sulfate reduction efficiency was measured by turbidometric method. The K_m and R_max value of the consortium was determined. It was immobilized in 10L bioreactor and the sulfate reduction was measured in presence of media and mine effluent. Results: The consortium was found to reduce 2000ppm of sulfate in 36h under optimum condition. The K_m of 1.1530 ppm and R_max value of 0.030h⁻¹ was obtained under optimum conditions of pH-7.5 at 40°C with 2% inoculum. Consortium immobilized under ambient condition in a 10L packed bed reactor yielded about 21-41% reduction of soluble sulfate in synthetic medium prepared using effluent water and tap water respectively. Conclusion: This study reports for the first time the use of efficient SRB consortia from hot water spring for bioremediation of mine effluent.