BIOLOGICALLY-ENHANCED SEQUESTRATION OF PHOSPHATE IN IRON-ENRICHED SEDIMENTS

摘要

Surface water quality is currently one of the most important environmental sustainability issues. Many lakes are polluted because of their high concentration of nutrients, often phosphorus (P), which leads to excessive algal growth (eutrophication). The economic and environmental health impacts can be substantial. Nearly 85% of the P that enters surface waters in Iowa does not come from industrial or municipal waste, but from non-point source pollution, primarily from agriculture runoff. It is unlikely that Iowa will ban the use of fertilizers, particularly those from animals that contain an overabundance of P. Thus, other methods of preventing nutrients from entering surface waters in Iowa must be investigated. One of the most active new areas of innovative technology being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency for biological treatment of contaminated water is the use of “reactive iron”. Investigators in our lab have shown that low cost reactive iron from mine tailings can be used to prevent P from entering surface waters, even under anaerobic conditions. In this study, we have investigated optimal conditions for biologically-enhanced phosphorus sequestration and have enriched for and isolated the biological component.