Microbial Production of Schwertmannite: Development from Microbial Fundamentals to Marketable Products

Pumped groundwater in the lignite open-cast mines in Lusatia, Germany, contains a high level of ferrous iron (up to 1000 mg/L) at an initial pH of about 5. In recent R&D projects G.E.O.S. developed an innovative water treatment process for ferrous iron oxidation using the autochthonous microbial consortium in the mine water. The pilot plant is operated in the Nochten open-pit mine in cooperation with the LEAG and produces 5 – 10 t of schwertmannite per year. Extensive research work was carried out in parallel to utilize the produced schwertmannite. Pigment production proved to be technically feasible but difficult due to economic and market constraints. However, the high affinity of schwertmannite to oxy-anions provides the suitability for utilization as adsorbent to remove arsenate, antimonate, chromate, molybdate, vanadate or phosphate from mine water or industrial effluents. In the R&D project SURFTRAPII two kinds of filter-stable sorption materials were developed 1) by compacting schwertmannite or 2) by adhesive curing using an organic polymer, respectively. The produced filter-stable adsorbents were tested under technical conditions in cooperation with potential end users to remove arsenate, molybdate and phosphate from mine and industrial water and to concentrate valuable metals. The results showed a better performance of the material compared to other commercially available iron hydroxide adsorbents.

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Bacterial Diversity in a Mine Water Treatment Plant

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.01045-08 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

pp. 858-861 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Elke Heinzel ◽

Sabrina Hedrich ◽

Eberhard Janneck ◽

Franz Glombitza ◽

Jana Seifert ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Mine Water ◽

Ferrous Iron ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Water Treatment Plant ◽

Acid Mine Water ◽

Statistical Parameters ◽

Ferrous Iron Oxidation ◽

Mine Water Treatment

ABSTRACT We investigated the microbial community in a pilot plant for treatment of acid mine water by biological ferrous iron oxidation using clone library analysis and calculated statistical parameters for further characterization. The microbial community in the plant was conspicuously dominated by a group of Betaproteobacteria affiliated with “Ferribacter polymyxa”.

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Use of a Multiple Orifice Spray Reactor to Accelerate Ferrous Iron Oxidation in Acidic Mine Water

Mine Water and the Environment ◽

10.1007/s10230-005-0094-y ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 186-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Daniel B. Klein ◽

Ronald D. Neufeld

Keyword(s):

Mine Water ◽

Ferrous Iron ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Ferrous Iron Oxidation ◽

Acidic Mine Water

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Ferrous iron oxidation in moderately thermophilic acidophile Sulfobacillus sibiricus N1T

Canadian Journal of Microbiology ◽

10.1139/w10-063 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 56 (10) ◽

pp. 803-808 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Tatiana Y. Dinarieva ◽

Anna E. Zhuravleva ◽

Oksana A. Pavlenko ◽

Iraida A. Tsaplina ◽

Alexander I. Netrusov

Keyword(s):

Ferrous Iron ◽

High Performance ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Early Exponential Phase ◽

Moderately Thermophilic ◽

Terminal Oxidases ◽

Cytochrome Bo ◽

Ferrous Iron Oxidation ◽

Transport Chain ◽

Membrane Bound

The iron-oxidizing system of a moderately thermophilic, extremely acidophilic, gram-positive mixotroph, Sulfobacillus sibiricus N1T, was studied by spectroscopic, high-performance liquid chromatography and inhibitory analyses. Hemes B, A, and O were detected in membranes of S. sibiricus N1T. It is proposed that the electron transport chain from Fe2+ to O2 is terminated by 2 physiological oxidases: aa3-type cytochrome, which dominates in the early-exponential phase of growth, and bo3-type cytochrome, whose role in iron oxidation becomes more prominent upon growth of the culture. Both oxidases were sensitive to cyanide and azide. Cytochrome aa3 was more sensitive to cyanide and azide, with Ki values of 4.1 and 2.5 µmol·L–1, respectively, compared with Ki values for cytochrome bo3, which were 9.5 µmol·L–1 for cyanide and 7.0 µmol·L–1 for azide. This is the first evidence for the participation of a bo3-type oxidase in ferrous iron oxidation. The respiratory chain of the mixotroph contains, in addition to the 2 terminal oxidases, a membrane-bound cytochrome b573.

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A kinetic model of ferrous iron oxidation by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in a batch culture

Chemical Industry and Chemical Engineering Quarterly ◽

10.2298/ciceq0502059s ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 59-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Dragisa Savic ◽

Miodrag Lazic ◽

Vlada Veljkovic ◽

Miroslav Vrvic

Keyword(s):

Kinetic Model ◽

Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans ◽

Ferrous Iron ◽

Bubble Column ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Yield Coefficient ◽

Transfer Rates ◽

Ferrous Iron Oxidation ◽

Menten Kinetic ◽

Kinetics Of

The batch oxidation kinetics of ferrous iron by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans were examined at different oxygen transfer rates and pH in an aerated stirred tank and a bubble column. The microbial growth, oxygen consumption rate and ferrous and ferric iron were monitored during the biooxidation. A kinetic model was established on the basis of the Michaelis-Menten kinetic equation for bacterial growth and the constants estimated from experimental data (maximum specific growth rate 0.069 h-1, saturation constant 2.9 g/dm3, and biomass yield coefficient based on ferrous iron 0.003 gd.w./gFe). Values calculated from the model agreed well with the experimental ones regardless of the bioreactor type and pH conditions.

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