Biologically-induced precipitation of sphalerite–wurtzite nanoparticles by sulfate-reducing bacteria: Implications for acid mine drainage treatment
2012
Castillo, Julio | Pérez López, Rafael | Caraballo, Manuel A. | Nieto, José M. | Martins, Monica | Costa, M Clara | Olías, Manuel | Cerón, Juan C. | Tucoulou, Rémi
Several experiments were conducted to evaluate zinc-tolerance of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) obtained from three environmental samples, two inocula from sulfide-mining districts and another inoculum from a wastewater treatment plant. The populations of SRB resisted zinc concentrations of 260mg/L for 42days in a sulfate-rich medium. During the experiments, sulfate was reduced to sulfide and concentrations in solution decreased. Zinc concentrations also decreased from 260mg/L to values below detection limit. Both decreases were consistent with the precipitation of newly-formed sphalerite and wurtzite, two polymorphs of ZnS, forming <2.5-μm-diameter spherical aggregates identified by microscopy and synchrotron-μ-XRD. Sulfate and zinc are present in high concentrations in acid mine drainage (AMD) even after passive treatments based on limestone dissolution. The implementation of a SRB-based zinc removal step in these systems could completely reduce the mobility of all metals, which would improve the quality of stream sediments, water and soils in AMD-affected landscapes.
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