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BIOLOGICAL DEGRADATION OF CYANIDE BY NITROGEN-FIXING CYANOBACTERIA
Citation:
Gantzer, C. AND W. Maier. BIOLOGICAL DEGRADATION OF CYANIDE BY NITROGEN-FIXING CYANOBACTERIA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/2-90/034.
Description:
This study examined the ability of nitrogen-fixing Anabaena to biodegrade cyanide in batch reactors. ixed second-order constants were obtained that described the biologically-mediated decrease in cyanide for reactors containing initial cyanide concentrations of 3 ppm. or Anabaena cultures not previously exposed to cyanide, the rate constants were a function of pH. aster rates of cyanide biodegradation were observed at higher pH values. nabaena cultures acclimated to the presence of cyanide had rate constants that were at least 10 times faster than rate constants for unacclimated cultures. he magnitude of the cyanide biodegradation rate constants suggests that the utilization of nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria in the treatment of cyanide wastes can be a feasible process in some applications, i.e., secondary or tertiary treatment at larger treatment facilities. his work was performed between October 1, 1986, and April 30, 1988, at the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering.