Mineral Products of Pyrrhotite Oxidation by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
- 1 June 1993
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Applied and Environmental Microbiology
- Vol. 59 (6) , 1984-1990
- https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.59.6.1984-1990.1993
Abstract
The biological leaching of pyrrhotite (Fe1-xS) by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was studied to characterize the oxidation process and to identify the mineral weathering products. The process was biphasic in that an initial phase of acid consumption and decrease in redox potential was followed by an acid-producing phase and an increase in redox potential. Elemental S was one of the first products of pyrrhotite degradation detected by X-ray diffraction. Pyrrhotite oxidation also yielded K-jarosite [KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6], goethite (α-FeOOH), and schwertmannite [Fe8O8(OH)6SO4] as solid-phase products. Pyrrhotite was mostly depleted after 14 days, whereas impurities in the form of pyrite (cubic FeS2) and marcasite (orthorhombic FeS2) accumulated in the leach residue.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Bacterial Oxidation of Sulfide Minerals in Column Leaching Experiments at Suboptimal TemperaturesApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 1992