Rapid restoration of methanogenesis in an acidified UASB reactor treating 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP).

Anaerobic bioreactors are often used for removal of xenobiotic and highly toxic pollutants from wastewater. Most of the time, the pollutant is so toxic that the stability of the reactor becomes compromised. It is well known that methanogens are one of the most sensitive organisms in the anaerobic consortia and hence the stability of the reactors is highly dependant on methanogenesis.

Reductive dehalogenation of tetrabromobisphenol-A by sediment from a contaminated ephemeral streambed and an enrichment culture.

This study was aimed at improving our understanding of the physiology of the microorganisms that reductively dehalogenate tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBPA). Activity was followed in contaminated sediments from a polluted streambed as well as from fracture filling material underlying the stream. Reductive dehalogenation was observed in surface sediments but not in fracture filling samples from a depth of 3m.