Thiosulphate oxidation by Thiobacillus thioparus and Halothiobacillus neapolitanus strains isolated from the petrochemical industry

Sulphur Oxidizing Bacteria (SOB) is a group of microorganisms widely used for the biofiltration of Total Reduced Sulphur compounds (TRS). TRS are bad smelling compounds with neurotoxic activity which are produced by different industries (cellulose, petrochemical). Thiobacillus thioparus has the capability to oxidize organic TRS, and strains of this bacterium are commonly used for TRS biofiltration technology. In this study, two thiosulphate oxidizing strains were isolated from a petrochemical plant (ENAP BioBio, Chile). They were subjected to molecular analysis by real time PCR using specific primers for T. thioparus. rDNA16S were sequenced using universal primers and their corresponding thiosulphate activities were compared with the reference strain T. thioparus ATCC 10801 in batch standard conditions. Real time PCR and 16S rDNA sequencing showed that one of the isolated strains belonged to the Thiobacillus branch. This strain degrades thiosulphate with a similar activity profile to that shown by the ATCC 10801 strain, but with less growth, making it useful in biofiltration.

Effect of KCl and CsCl electrolytes on the kinetics of reaction between bromopropionate and thiosulphate ions

The primary salt effect on reaction between beta- bromo - propionate and thiosulphate ions has been studied in presence of various concentrations of potassium chloride and ceasium chloride at different temperatures. The effects of ionic strength on rate constants are very specific and dependent upon the ionic and the concentration of the cation of the added salt. The rate constants have been found to decrease with increasing concentrations of inert salts. The activation parameters such as energy of activation [E[a]] change in entropy of activation [delta S[++]],change in free energy of activation [delta G[++]] and temperature coefficients of the rate constants in the presence of potassium chloride and ceasium chloride have been evaluated as a function of ionic strength