Sarah Blackford Society for Experimental Biology
A pilot plant
employing a new type of bioreactor has successfully been used
to treat mercury-contaminated wastewater in Germany.
Dr Irene Wagner-Döbler
and colleagues from the GBF National Research Centre for Biotechnology,
Germany, developed the technical scale plant based on previous
work on mercury-resistant bacteria. Biofilms of bacteria were
used in packed bed bioreactors to treat chemical water containing
mercury in a highly toxic form. The bacteria possess a powerful
detoxification mechanism that converts mercury to a less toxic,
water insoluble metallic form.
Dr Wagner-
Döbler is presenting details of the clean-up technique at
the Society for Experimental Biology Meeting in Canterbury on
2 April. Biofilm communities containing multiple species will
be shown to be the most effective, where different strains are
optimally adapted to the range of mercury concentrations in water.
No remediation
treatment for mercury-contaminated soils exists. Current chemical
and physical techniques for removing mercury from wastewater are
very expensive. Mercury pollution remains a significant problem
because of the metal’s extreme toxicity and accumulation
in the food chain.
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