Microbial control of the production of hydrogen sulfide by sulfate-reducing bacteria

A sulfide-resistant ctrain of Thiobacillus denitrificans, strain F, prevented the accumulation of sulfide by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans when both organisms were grown in liquid medium or in Berea sandstone cores. The wild-type strain of T. denitrificans did not prevent the accumulation of sulfide produced by D. desulfuricans. Strain F also prevented the accumulation of sulfide by a mixed population of sulfate-reducing bacteria enriched from an oil field brine. Fermentation balances showed that strain F stoichiometrically oxidized the sulfide produced by D. desulfuricans and the oil field brine enrichment to sulfate. These data suggest that strain F would be effective in controlling sulfide production in oil reservoirs and other environments.