Soluble sulfate contamination in water is observed due to various industrial activities. Chemical means of reduction are available yet the biological approach is the preferred one. Problem statement: The problem addressed in this study was the isolation of efficient sulfate reducing bacterial consortia for bioremediation of soluble sulfate from mining effluent. Approach: The culture based method using the DSMZ specific media were used for isolation of sulfate reducing bacterial consortia. Their reduction efficiency was measured spectrophotometrically following growth under varied temperature and pH in specified media as well as in effluent water. The microbial consortia were analyzed at the 16SrDNA level to identify the members. The completeness as well as richness of the study was analyzed using OTU saturation curve, Shannon diversity index and equitability index. Results: All the eight consortia were able to tolerate vide range of pH (6-9) and temperature (20-40°C). They could reduce 63-99% of soluble sulfate (~2000 ppm) in 48 h. Conclusion: This study reported about the enrichment of few of the most efficient anaerobic microbial consortia that could be employed for environmental soluble sulfate reduction under diverse pH and temperature conditions

Problem statement: Soluble sulfate load in effluent is a crucial problem from mining industries. The study involved isolation of efficient Sulfate Reducing Bacterial (SRB) consortium from hot water spring for bioremediatrion of sulfate contaminated waste water. Approach: The enriched bacterial consortium was isolated in medium DSMZ 16695. The sulfate reduction efficiency was measured by turbidometric method. The K m and R max value of the consortium was determined. It was immobilized in 10L bioreactor and the sulfate reduction was measured in presence of media and mine effluent. Results: The consortium was found to reduce 2000ppm of sulfate in 36h under optimum condition. The K m of 1.1530 ppm and R max value of 0.030h −1 was obtained under optimum conditions of pH-7.5 at 40°C with 2% inoculum. Consortium immobilized under ambient condition in a 10L packed bed reactor yielded about 21-41% reduction of soluble sulfate in synthetic medium prepared using effluent water and tap water respectively. Conclusion: This study reports for the first time the use of efficient SRB consortia from hot water spring for bioremediation of mine effluent.