Moloantoa, KarabeloKhetsha, ZenzileMochane, MokgaotsaUnuofin, John OnolameAtangana, AbdonCason, ErrolVan Heerden, EstaCastillo, Julio2024-05-282024-05-282023Karabelo Moloantoa, Zenzile Khetsha, Mokgaotsa Mochane, John Unuofin, Abdon Atangana, Errol Cason, Esta van Heerden & Julio Castillo (2023) Evaluating the effects of pH and temperature on sulphate-reducing bacteria and modelling of their effects in stirred bioreactors, Environmental Pollutants and Bioavailability, 35:1, 2257388, DOI: 10.1080/26395940.2023.2257388.2639-594010.1080/26395940.2023.2257388http://hdl.handle.net/2263/96268DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : Data used and presented in this study can be made available upon requests to the corresponding authors.Sulphate (SO4) abundance in the earth’s crust contributes largely to industrial wastewater contamination lowering the pH, which exuberates the dissolution of metals forming acidic drainages. Biological sulphate reduction as a remediation process can be affected by factors such as pH, temperature and high sulphide concentrations. In this study, sulphate-reducing bacterial community enriched from mine wastewaters was applied in semi-automated bioreactors to assess the effects of these factors on microbial sulphate reduction capacities. Low pH (3.5) and temperature (10°C) were observed to promote the toxicity of sulphur-reduced species on the consortium while mesophilic temperature (25°C) and near neutral pH (6.2) were observed to induce optimum SO4 reduction attaining a maximum of 95% SO4 reduction. Obtained SO4 reduction dynamics data was then applied in formulating a unique non-competitive inhibition equation that models biogeochemical events during SO4 reduction under varied pH and temperature conditions and predicts the efficacy of a bioremediation system.en© 2023 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.Bacterial consortiumBiogeochemical modellingBio-precipitationBioreactorsBioremediationSulphate reductionWater contaminationSDG-12: Responsible consumption and productionArticle