Description:
Metal reduction and degradation of organic contaminants via ammonium oxidation under iron reduction for water remediation
Princeton Docket # 15-3080
Researchers in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University have cultured Acidimicrobiaceae bacterium A6 (ATCC, PTA-122488) to investigate the process of ammonium oxidation under iron reduction (Feammox). While this organism conducts Feammox, it can reduce oxidized metals, metalloids, and radionuclides, including uranium (VI) and copper (II), and it can degrade organic contaminants like trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene and aromatic hydrocarbons. The iron reduction pathway is non-specific, so other trace metals and radioisotopes are predicted to be reducible by this mechanism. Upon reduction of some metals, there is an accompanying change in solubility, allowing for more facile removal from water. The researchers also identified functional genes encoding for a Feammox monooxygenase (FMO), by which trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene as well as selected aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons can be degraded.
Applications:
• Groundwater remediation to remove selected contaminants
• Waste treatment
• Metal bioleaching
• Metal immobilization/precipitation
• Design water treatment plants to remove selected organic contaminants, selected trace metals/ radionuclides, and/or ammonium.
Advantages:
• Ammonium oxidation without the need for energy-intensive aeration
• Acidimicrobiaceae bacterium A6 grows under acidic conditions, where other biological in situ treatment systems for PCE/TCE fail
• Alter solubility of metals to more easily remove contaminants from water
Keywords
Feammox, Acidimicrobiaceae bacterium A6, water remediation, organic contaminant, metal reduction, metal immobilization
Related Publications
Huang, S. and P.R. Jaffe, “Characterization of incubation experiments and development of an enrichment culture capable of ammonium oxidation under iron-reducing conditions,” Biogeosciences, 12, 769-779, doi:10.5194/bg-12-769-2015, 2015.
Huang, S., and P.R. Jaffe, “A newly identified microorganism affecting the N cycle: Ammonium oxidation in iron reducing soils,” 23nd V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, August 2013, Florence, Italy. Mineralogical Magazine, 77(5) 1339.
Huang, S., M. Ruiz-Urigüen, P.R. Jaffe, “Studies on a Novel Actinobacteria Species Capable of Oxidizing Ammonium under Iron Reduction Conditions,” EGU General Assembly, 2014, Vienna, Austria.
Gilson, E., S. Huang, P. Kostervan Groos, K. Scheckel, A Peacock, D. Kaplan, P Jaffe, “Fate of Uranium in Wetlands: Impact of Drought Followed by Re-flooding,” AGU 2014 Fall Meeting Program, San Francisco.
Huang, S., M. Ruiz-Urigüen, P.R. Jaffe, “Environmental Factors Affecting Ammonium Oxidation Under Iron Reducing Conditions,” AGU 2014 Fall Meeting Program, San Francisco.
Huang, S., M. Ruiz-Urigüen, and P.R. Jaffe, “Ammonium Oxidation Under Iron Reducing Conditions: Environmental Factors Characterization and Process Optimization,” EGU General Assembly, 2015, Vienna, Austria.
Gilson E., S. Huang, P.G Koster van Groos, K. Scheckel, A.D. Peacock, D.I. Kaplan and P.R. Jaffe, “Fate of Uranium in Wetlands: Impact of Drought followed by Re-flooding,” 2015 Environmental System Science (ESS) Principal Investigators (PI) Meeting.
Gilson, E.R., S. Huang, and P.R. Jaffé, “Biological Reduction of Uranium by Acidimicrobiaceae bacterium A6,” to appear in Biodegradation.
Inventors
Peter R. Jaffe, Ph.D., Shan Huang, Ph.D., and Melany Ruiz
Faculty Inventor
Peter R. Jaffe, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The research interests of the Jaffe laboratory relate to the physical, chemical, and biological processes that govern the transport and transformation of pollutants in the environment and their application towards the remediation of contaminated systems. Areas of current emphasis include laboratory and field experiments, as well as mathematical simulations of biogeochemical processes in porous media, such as: (1) numerical simulation of denitrification in soils as a function of rainfall and soil properties, and the scaling of these results to link them to climate change models; (2) biogeochemically mediated dynamics of trace metals in sediments, wetland soils, and groundwater; (3) biological reduction of uranium in groundwater and the long-term stability of the reduced uranium phases; (4) nitrogen processing in urban settings coupled to urban hydrology; and (5) effects of carbon dioxide sequestration in deep aquifers on shallow soils due to potential leaks.
Dr. Jaffe joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Princeton University in 1985, and he was department chair from 1999-2005. He is the Associate Director for Research of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, an associated faculty member of the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Department of Geosciences, and a member of the Environmental Engineering and Water Resources Program. He has held visiting positions at the Venezuelan Research Institute and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. He has served on numerous committees and panels, including the National Research Council, EPA, NIH, NSF, and DOE. Dr. Jaffe completed his Ph.D. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering at Vanderbilt University.
Intellectual Property and Licensing Status
Patent applications are pending. Princeton is seeking industrial collaborators for further development and commercialization of this technology.
Contact
Laurie Tzodikov
Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing • (609) 258-7256• tzodikov@princeton.edu
Anna Trugman
Princeton University Office of Technology Licensing • att@princeton.edu