Manganese is one of most important elements for the people health, but drinking water with excess manganese will cause chronic poisoning for the people. Thus there is a need for developing effective manganese removal method in the water treatment. Due to the high efficiency and low cost, biological manganese removal technology has been investigated and applied to many cases. The manganese removal is achieved in here by oxidizing Mn2+ bacteria. Three high manganese oxidizing bacteria which were gram-positive were screened from the mature filtration column and their physiological and biochemical characteristics were investigated. All three bacteria can grow well in wide range of pH and temperature. The removal efficiency of Mn2+ by these bacteria could reach at more than 86% in both eutrophic and oligotrophic conditions. The removal efficiency of Mn2+ is increased with time in the logarithmic stage. The cells are embedded with the mixed PVA and Alginate. The results show the high mechanical strength and good mass transfer performance. The maximum removal rates of Mn2+ by the three bacteria are all above 85.6% when the columns are filled with the mixed immobilized balls and the low-cost river sand.
