Development of a biological removal method of antimony from wastewater

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K12230
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Environmental engineering and reduction of environmental burden
• Research Institution: Ritsumeikan University (2017); Osaka University (2015-2016)
• Principal Investigator: Soda Satoshi 立命館大学, 理工学部, 教授 (30322176)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 黒田 真史 大阪大学, 工学研究科, 助教 (20511786) ; 池 道彦 大阪大学, 工学研究科, 教授 (40222856)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: アンチモン / 微生物機能 / 廃水処理 / 資源回収

Outline of Final Research Achievements

For developing a biological treatment process for removing antimony from water, antimony-reducing bacteria were enriched and characterized. Various microbial samples collected from water of Yodo River, Lake Biwa, Aso Sea, Wakasa Bay, and soil of forests in Hyogo, and sewage treatment sludge showed orange precipitates of antimony sulfide (Sb2S3) under anaerobic conditions. Some samples showed white precipitates of antimony oxide (Sb2O3), resulting in removal of antimony from the water phase. Bacterial colonies with antimony reducing ability were formed on the solid media. In conclusion, promising results were obtained for developing antimony removal technology.

Free Research Field

排水処理工学