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Performance of Sludge in the UASB Reactor for Treating Sulfate Wastewater: Sulfate Removal and Changes in the Community Structure Before and After Reaction

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Abstract

Water pollution caused by improper treatment of acid mine drainage (AMD) is one of the most common problems encountered in the mining process. However, the traditional physical and chemical methods are expensive, and the additional products are difficult to treat. Therefore, seeking a simple and efficient treatment method has become the main challenge in solving AMD. In this study, the efficiency of sulfate removal using sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) based on the upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor and the changes in the sludge microbial community structure before and after the reaction were studied. The properties of SRB, particularly their reducing effect, were studied. Results show that SRB had good reduction performance in the environment with pH 6.5 to 7.5. The best-reducing effect was achieved at 15% inoculum. Under different initial sulfate concentrations, the sulfate removal rate in the UASB reactor reached 80–90%. After the reaction, the species’ community abundance was increased, and the species diversity was enhanced. These investigations are conducive to providing new ideas and methods for treating AMD and solving the high sulfate concentrations in AMD.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from Major Science and Technology Innovation Projects in Shandong Province(2019JZZY020808). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Safety and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, Shandong, China

    Liping Niu, Shuang Sun, Fangying Yu, Xinyue Zhang, Shiying Fan, Yue Sun, Wenlong Lin, Bowen Wang & Xingde Zhang

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  1. Liping Niu
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  2. Shuang Sun
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  3. Fangying Yu
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  4. Xinyue Zhang
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Correspondence to Shuang Sun.

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Niu, L., Sun, S., Yu, F. et al. Performance of Sludge in the UASB Reactor for Treating Sulfate Wastewater: Sulfate Removal and Changes in the Community Structure Before and After Reaction. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 246 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06267-y

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