The influence of moisture content on removal of H₂S using the vermicompost biflter and analysis on microbial community

School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou, Gansu 73007, China

^* Corresponding author’s e-mail: tianweiping@lzjtu.edu.cn

Abstract

The utilization of biofilters provides a promising option, serving as an environment-friendly and economically beneficial strategy for waste gas abatement. In this study, the different moisture content of vermicompost with indigenous microorganisms as a filter bed material was evaluated for the performance of a biofilter in terms of hydrogen sulfide removal efficiencies and the bacterial dynamics. Maximum removal efficiency of hydrogen sulfide was conformed when the moisture content of the packing material was from 50% to 60%. By 16S rDNA gene-Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing technology, The Shannon and Simpon index of the vermicompost microbial community had significantly decreased after treating hydrogen sulfide. The predominant bacteria in vermicompost samples were Proteobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. Rhodanobacter and Mesorhizobium were isogenous with sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, which play a critical role in vermicompost biodegrading hydrogen sulfide.