Metagenomic Evidence for a Species Capable of Bioremediation of Diverse Heavy Metals.

Heavy metal pollution has become an increasingly serious problem worldwide. Co-contamination with toxic mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) presents a particularly difficult bioremediation trouble. By oxidizing the greenhouse gas methane, methanotrophs have been demonstrated to have high denitrification activity in eutrophic waters, indicating their possible potential for use in bioremediation of Hg(II) and As(V) in polluted water.

Formation of nanoscale Te and its effect on TeO reduction in CH-based membrane biofilm reactor.

Formation and recovery of elemental tellurium (Te) from wastewaters are required by increasing demands and scarce resources. Membrane biofilm reactor (MBfR) using gaseous electron donor has been reported as a low-cost and benign technique to reduce and recover metal (loids). In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of nanoscale Te formation by tellurite (TeO) reduction in a CH-based MBfR.