Charles Amiel Dionisio

BSChE V-1

Journal # 1

Influence of Iron III Ions on Nitrate Removal by Autotrophic Denitrification Using Thiobacillus
denitrificans

The journal titled Influence of Iron III Ions on Nitrate Removal by Autotrophic Denitrification
Using Thiobacillus denitrificans was studied by Z. Blazkova and his colleagues in the Department of
Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Chemical Technology, University of Pardubice, Czech
Republic. The journal was accepted on the 14th of June 2017. The studys main aim is to evaluate the
feasibility and effectivity of nitrite removal in industrial waste water by the addition of iron III ions. The
study also used the bacteria Thiobacillus denitrificans for the denitrification process. It was conducted in
a laboratory scale anoxic bioreactor. The title of the journal is quite short and straightforward. It would
not have any implications on the journals content though.

Upon reading the abstract, Ive already gained knowledge of what the study is for. It was written
in a clear, brief, precise manner and phrased in a comprehensible and simple structure, just like what an
abstract should be. However, I found that the abstract is not fully representative of the method used, and
experimentation part was not emphasized in the abstract which for me is the most interesting part.
Numerical data of the results and a brief justification are also not shown in the abstract. In general, the
abstract is well written.

An expounded idea of the abstract is the best way to describe the articles introduction. It gave
an insight to the main significance and purpose of the paper regarding the feasibility and influence of
adding iron III ions into a denitrification bioreaction using thiobacillus denitrificans. They justified using
biological methods by stating that the end product is harmless nitrogen gas. In addition to this, the
biological process is specifically called autotrophic denitrification because it uses the oxidation of sulfur
and the actual denitrification process as the microorganisms energy source, thus, no other biological
material is introduced and carbon dioxide is used as the main carbon source. Also, in this mode of
operation, less sludge is generated than conventional processes.

In the materials and methods part, the researchers used 1-L suspension batch bioreactors in the
experiment. They used a culture obtained from Leibnitz Institute Collection of Microorganisms. They
added lime into the reacting mixture because oxidation of sulfur can lead to the formation of sulfuric acid,
which would create an acidic and toxic environment for the microorganisms. The lime will react with
sulfuric acid to form carbon dioxide, which is the main carbon source of the microorganisms. The
bioreaction was run for a total of 70 days. Samples were collected every 7 days to track the reaction and
to characterize and quantify the current state of the process. They conducted a microbial enrichment
technique to obtain a concentrated culture to use in their experiment. The enrichment took four weeks
to reach an optical density of 0.03

In my opinion, their methods were somewhat lacking especially in the parts where bioreaction
needs to be terminated. Although they gave a time frame of 70 days, they did not specify the parameters
to be considered to indicate when to stop the process which for me is very important since it would be
one of the parameters to be considered if the process is to be scaled up and industrialized.

For a student, the results and discussion part is very vague since it requires a greater
understanding or specialization in biochemical engineering, but as far as I can understand, they have
achieved their target objective: to prove that there is a positive relationship between the addition of iron
III ions together with a proton donor to the rate and degree of nitrate removal. Just one downside of the
process that they discussed is that along with the reduction of nitrates, is the accumulation of nitrites.
Nitrites are intermediates of the denitrification process. I am a bit confused because they did not include
any measurements of efficiency in the conclusion. They only stated all the data they have gathered.
Nonetheless, the study was successful and introduces a specific pathway for the autotrophic
denitrification of nitrates with iron III ions.

The conclusion is very brief but representative of the results. It stated that iron III ions can
influence the denitrifying activity of T. denitrificans in sulphur-based autotrophic denitrification. The
highest increase in nitrate removal was found for the concentration of ferric iron equal to 0.1 mg L1.
However, under these conditions, increased nitrite content was detected in the reaction mixture which
exceeded the limits for drinking water. The nitrite decomposition was evaluated as the reaction rate-
determining step.