Impact of Fe(III) (Oxyhydr)oxides Mineralogy on Iron Solubilization and Associated Microbial Communities

Iron-reducing bacteria (IRB) are strongly involved in Fe cycling in surface environments. Transformation of Fe and associated trace elements is strongly linked to the reactivity of various iron minerals. Mechanisms of Fe (oxyhydr)oxides bio-reduction have been mostly elucidated with pure bacterial strains belonging to Geobacter or Shewanella genera, whereas studies involving mixed IRB populations remain scarce. The present study aimed to evaluate the iron reducing rates of IRB enriched consortia originating from complex environmental samples, when grown in presence of Fe (oxyhydr)oxides of different mineralogy. The abundances of Geobacter and Shewanella were assessed in order to acquire knowledge about the abundance of these two genera in relation to the effects of mixed IRB populations on kinetic control of mineralogical Fe (oxyhydr)oxides reductive dissolution. Laboratory experiments were carried out with two freshly synthetized Fe (oxyhydr)oxides presenting contrasting specific surfaces, and two defined Fe-oxides, i.e., goethite and hematite. Three IRB consortia were enriched from environmental samples from a riverbank subjected to cyclic redox oscillations related to flooding periods (Decize, France): an unsaturated surface soil, a flooded surface soil and an aquatic sediment, with a mixture of organic compounds provided as electron donors. The consortia could all reduce iron-nitrilotriacetate acid (Fe(III)-NTA) in 1–2 days. When grown on Fe (oxyhydr)oxides, Fe solubilization rates decreased as follows: fresh Fe (oxyhydr)oxides > goethite > hematite. Based on a bacterial rrs gene fingerprinting approach (CE-SSCP), bacterial community structure in presence of Fe(III)-minerals was similar to those of the site sample communities from which they originated but differed from that of the Fe(III)-NTA enrichments. Shewanella was more abundant than Geobacter in all cultures. Its abundance was higher in presence of the most efficiently reduced Fe (oxyhydr)oxide than with other Fe(III)-minerals. Geobacter as a proportion of the total community was highest in the presence of the least easily solubilized Fe (oxyhydr)oxides. This study highlights the influence of Fe mineralogy on the abundance of Geobacter and Shewanella in relation to Fe bio-reduction kinetics in presence of a complex mixture of electron donors.

Statistical Treatment of Bleaching Kaolin by Iron Removal

In the present study, oxalic acid was used as a leaching reagent to remove iron from a kaolin mineral. Statistical analysis was conducted to determine the most influential factors in the dissolution of iron from the kaolin mineral. Our goal was ferric iron solubilization and its reduction to ferrous iron to improve the iron removal in the acid medium. Leaching experiments were conducted at atmospheric pressure. A two-level factorial design of the type 2⁴ was utilized. The dependent variable was the percentage of dissolved iron, and the dependent variables in this study were acid concentration (0.35 and 0.50 M), temperature (75 °C and 100 °C), leaching time (2 and 4 h), and pH (1.5 and 2.5). An analysis of variance revealed that the effects of the factors temperature (b), pH (d), and the combined effects of temperature and time (bc) resulted in the maximum dissolution of iron of 88% at 100 °C, giving a kaolin mineral with a whiteness index 93.50%.

Ash iron mobilization through physicochemical processing in volcanic eruption plumes: a numerical modeling approach

It has been shown that volcanic ash fertilizes the Fe-limited areas of the surface ocean through releasing soluble iron. As ash iron is mostly insoluble upon the eruption, it is hypothesized that heterogeneous in-plume and in-cloud processing of the ash promote the iron solubilization. Direct evidences concerning such processes are, however, lacking. In this study, a 1-D numerical model is developed to simulate the physicochemical interactions of the gas–ash–aerosol in volcanic eruption plumes focusing on the iron mobilization processes at temperatures between 600 and 0 °C. Results show that sulfuric acid and water vapor condense at ~ 150 and ~ 50 °C on the ash surface, respectively. This liquid phase then efficiently scavenges the surrounding gases (> 95 % of HCl, 3–20 % of SO2 and 12–62 % of HF) forming an extremely acidic coating at the ash surface. The low pH conditions of the aqueous film promote acid-mediated dissolution of the Fe-bearing phases present in the ash material. We estimate that 0.1–33 % of the total iron available at the ash surface is dissolved in the aqueous phase before the freezing point is reached. The efficiency of dissolution is controlled by the halogen content of the erupted gas as well as the mineralogy of the iron at ash surface: elevated halogen concentrations and presence of Fe2+-carrying phases lead to the highest dissolution efficiency. Findings of this study are in agreement with the data obtained through leaching experiments.

Ash iron mobilization in volcanic eruption plumes

It has been shown that volcanic ash fertilizes the Fe-limited areas of the surface ocean through releasing soluble iron. As ash iron is mostly insoluble upon the eruption, it is hypothesized that heterogeneous in-plume and in-cloud processing of the ash promote the iron solubilization. Direct evidences concerning such processes are, however, lacking. In this study, a 1-D numerical model is developed to simulate the physicochemical interactions of gas–ash–aerosol in volcanic eruption plumes focusing on the iron mobilization processes at temperatures between 600 and 0 °C. Results show that sulfuric acid and water vapor condense at ~150 and ~50 °C on the ash surface, respectively. This liquid phase then efficiently scavenges the surrounding gases (>95% of HCl, 3–20% of SO2 and 12–62% of HF) forming an extremely acidic coating at the ash surface. The low pH conditions of the aqueous film promote acid-mediated dissolution of the Fe-bearing phases present in the ash material. We estimate that 0.1 to 33% of the total iron available at the ash surface is dissolved in the aqueous phase before the freezing point is reached. The efficiency of dissolution is controlled by the halogen content of the erupted gas as well as the mineralogy of the iron at ash surface: elevated halogen concentrations and presence of Fe2+-carrying phases lead to the highest dissolution efficiency. Findings of this study are in agreement with the data obtained through leaching experiments.

Pyrite Oxidation by Halotolerant, Thermotolerant Bacteria

Thermotolerant “Thiobacillus prosperus”-like bacteria were enriched from warm, acidic sediments of the island of Milos in the Aegean Sea. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated at least two thermotolerant species, with at least one of them present in similar niches at Vulcano, Italy. Iron solubilization in a pyrite-enrichment culture at 47°C was most rapid in the presence of NaCl at 30 g.l 1. One of the novel species (strain M7) grew in pure culture on pyrite with NaCl at 50 g.l-1, but iron solubilization was most rapid with 20 g NaCl.l 1 at just below 50°C.