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Beer and Bacteria to be used in Toxin Cleanup

Posted by Hemos on from the cleaning-it-up dept.

GospelHead821 writes "According to this article in Popular Science, a chemistry student at the University of Tulsa is driving research into use of toxin-munching "sulfate-reducing bacteria" (SRBs) to help cleanup toxic, solid effluent from abandoned zinc and lead mines near her home. Where does the beer come in? Apparently, it has proved an excellent food source for the bacteria and helps to extend the lifespan of the normally short-lived SRBs by several months. Currently, the procedure is in the testing phase, with models being employed to simulate the conditions that would be present in a large-scale detoxification plant, which in turn, is based on the natural wetlands from which these bacteria hail."

8 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. If I remember correctly... by gmplague · · Score: 4, Informative

    If I remember correctly, they did a kind of similar thing when the Exxon Valdez oil ship crashed... I think there was some bacteria that had been engineered to live off oil, and so they dropped some bacteria on the oil and that cleaned up much of it. This is from my freshman biology class, so I'm not quite sure if it's accurate.

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    __________________________________________
    Take comfort in your ignorance.
    Grandmaster Plague
    1. Re:If I remember correctly... by caesar-auf-nihil · · Score: 5, Informative

      You are correct, there are certain types of bacteria that have the right enzymes to break down hydrocarbons into units the bacteria can actually use as food/cell-building chemicals.

      The only problem with them is that like almost all bacteria, they are UV sensitive, so they were most effective at night and under the oil slick. In the morning, most of the colonies would get wiped out by the sunlight.

      These bacteria are slightly different in that they seem to be breaking down not hydrocarbon (oil) waste, but heavy metal waste. What I couldn't glean from the article was what the bacteria are doing with the waste once they injest it. Yes, they've broken it down, but you have to atomistic/matter conservation here, so the toxic zinc and other heavy metals have to go somewhere. Since beer is needed to feed the bacteria, they're obviously not using the heavy metals to generate more of themselves or create some special zinc-containing enzyme. My guess is that the bacteria break down the toxic form of the zinc/heavy metals and turn it into something easier for the environment to handle. However, I have no idea here what those bacteria are doing with it. I wish the popular science article had been more verbose in scientific content.

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      -When going for broke, go for Ithaca!
    2. Re:If I remember correctly... by JWhitlock · · Score: 3, Informative
      If I remember correctly, they did a kind of similar thing when the Exxon Valdez oil ship crashed... I think there was some bacteria that had been engineered to live off oil, and so they dropped some bacteria on the oil and that cleaned up much of it. This is from my freshman biology class, so I'm not quite sure if it's accurate.

      You are correct. If I remember correctly, this bacteria was patented by the company that developed it. Others wanted to copy the bacteria and challenged the patent, and eventually the Supreme Court ruled that you could patent an organism under the U.S. Patent law. This led to the rush to patent every human gene that a start-up lab could get their hands on, by only speculating what possible uses the gene might have.

      Anyone remember the case more clearly?

  2. Repost of another /.? by lonesome+phreak · · Score: 5, Informative

    This sounds familiar...

    old article:

    night_flyer writes: "Stale Beer may be used to clean up one of the worst superfund sites in the U.S. ... Now the question is, who leaves beer in the fridge long enough to go stale?" The site in question is a former zinc mine in Oklahoma which is full of toxic leavings, and has been on the EPA's Superfund hotlist for a few decades. A University of Tulsa professor named Tom Harris, who originally considered mollasses, is quoted as saying that "a wetlands treated with beer would be more effective in removing zinc and lead from runoff water than an untreated wetlands."

    It's the same guy, the same research, but just a different application!

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    Maybe we DID take the blue pill. You wouldn't remember anyway.
  3. Everglades by Talisman · · Score: 5, Informative

    This isn't original, save feeding the bugs with beer.

    We used Desulfovibrio desulfuricans to treat water in the Everglades with high mercury levels.

    Modified Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been used for years to clean up oil spills from the hard to get places. Like in between rocks and underneath sand.

    Microbes: they're not just for diseases anymore.

    Talisman

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    "Study your math, kids. Key to the universe." -The Archangel Gabriel
  4. Re:Where do the heavy metals go? by CaptainCarrot · · Score: 3, Informative
    I wish the popular science article had been more specific or verbose in how the whole thing would be engineered. My guess is that they'll have to somehow separate the soil from the bacterial colonies and burn the colony to collect the pure metal. The metal can then be recycled or stored safely. Separating the soil from the bacteria though is going to be very difficult.

    According to the article, an artificial wetland will be constructed and the bacteria will be seeded into the layer of organic material at the bottom of the water. Runoff from the mines will be directed into the wetland and the bacteria will bind the metal. The article doesn't say, but the presumption is that the metal will remain trapped in the organic layer, and it should remain there even after the bacteria die, especially after it gets covered with new layers of sediment and organic material.

    The main goal isn't necessarily to remove the metal from the environment completely -- this is mining country; the presence of metals in the environment is why they began mining there in the first place -- but to keep it contained and out of the groundwater. The main obstacle I see is keeping mine runoff confined to the wetland and keeping the wetland itself well-supplied with beer and SRB. How long does Harris propose to keep feeding it, anyway?

    Now if only they can do something about the sinkholes, which is a very serious physical danger to the community.

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    And the brethren went away edified.
  5. Re:Where do the heavy metals go? by robl · · Score: 3, Informative

    Doing a quick search on google, I found this article...

    http://www.newswise.com/articles/2001/7/BEER.TUL .h tml

    Apparently the metals become trapped in the soil. They can then take an earth mover and scoop it up into dump trucks, and store it "somewhere safe".

  6. Re:I'm sceptical by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Any homebrewer who has brewed many batches knows that bacteria CAN and WILL grow in beer. I have had a couple of batches infected by unwanted bacteria. While hops do help somewhat in keeping infections away, the main thing is to make sure the yeasties get a good head start on any bacteria. Besides, have you never had a Lambik? It gets its distinctive taste from lactic bacteria.