Check out this new publication in the Journal of Hazardous Materials by researchers from Wageningen University, together with Philippe Van Cappellen. The paper describes a new method for the removal of selenium from water. Even at low levels selenium is a toxic element. It has, however, many technological applications. Thus, the extraction of selenium from wastewater streams not only prevents its release to the environment, but also helps recover a valuable resource. In the proposed method, selenium sulphide is reduced by microorganisms present in the wastewater, producing extracellular selenium particles that can be recovered.
The full article, entitled "Microbial selenium sulfide reduction for selenium recovery from wastewater", can be accessed online.