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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 4972-4978, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.4972-4978.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Dissimilatory Iron Reduction and Odor Indicator Abatement by Biofilm Communities in Swine Manure Microcosms

Hugo A. Castillo-Gonzalez{dagger} and Mary Ann Bruns*

Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802

Received 9 December 2004/ Accepted 23 March 2005

Animal waste odors arising from products of anaerobic microbial metabolism create community relations problems for livestock producers. We investigated a novel approach to swine waste odor reduction: the addition of FeCl3, a commonly used coagulant in municipal wastewater treatment, to stimulate degradation of odorous compounds by dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria (DIRB). Two hypotheses were tested: (i) FeCl3 is an effective source of redox-active ferric iron (Fe3+) for dissimilatory reduction by bacteria indigenous to swine manure, and (ii) dissimilatory iron reduction results in significant degradation of odorous compounds within 7 days. Our results demonstrated that Fe3+ from FeCl3 was reduced biologically as well as chemically in laboratory microcosms prepared with prefiltered swine manure slurry and limestone gravel, which provided pH buffering and a substrate for microbial biofilm development. Addition of a 1-g liter–1 equivalent concentration of Fe3+ from FeCl3, but not from presynthesized ferrihydrite, caused initial, rapid solids flocculation, chemical Fe3+ reduction, and Eh increase, followed by a 2-day lag period. Between 2 and 6 days of incubation, increases in Fe2+ concentrations were accompanied by significant reductions in concentrations of volatile fatty acids used as odor indicators. Increases in Fe2+ concentrations between 2 and 6 days did not occur in FeCl3-treated microcosms that were sterilized by gamma irradiation or amended with NaN3, a respiratory inhibitor. DNA sequences obtained from rRNA gene amplicons of bacterial communities in FeCl3-treated microcosms were closely related to Desulfitobacterium spp., which are known representatives of DIRB. Use of iron respiration to abate wastewater odors warrants further investigation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, 116 ASI Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Phone: (814) 863-0779. Fax: (814) 863-7043. E-mail: mvb10{at}psu.edu.

{dagger} Present address: Center for Bioremediation and Environmental Biotechnology, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 4972-4978, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.4972-4978.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Kim, J. R., Dec, J., Bruns, M. A., Logan, B. E. (2008). Removal of Odors from Swine Wastewater by Using Microbial Fuel Cells. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 2540-2543 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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