Denitriftcation of ground water using cotton as energy source

Microbial removal of nitrate from drinking water was studied in laboratory columns packed with unprocessed short fiber (low quality) cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ). Cotton served as the sole chemical and physical substrate for the microbial population. Removal of nitrate was rapidly achieved without the formation of nitrite. Cotton (cellulose)-dependent denitrification was affected by changes in temperature: denitrification rates at 14°C were approximately half of the rates observed at 30°C. The cotton was entirely consumed in the process. In a fresh reactor, colonization of substrate by bacteria appears to be the rate limiting factor in the removal of nitrate.