The role of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans in arsenic bioleaching from soil

Environ Geochem Health. 2013 Dec;35(6):727-33. doi: 10.1007/s10653-013-9530-2. Epub 2013 May 26.

Abstract

Bioleaching of As from the soil in an abandoned Ag-Au mine was carried out using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. A. ferrooxidans is an iron oxidizer and A. thiooxidans is a sulfur oxidizer. These two microbes are acidophilic and chemoautotrophic microbes. Soil samples were collected from the Myoungbong and Songcheon mines. The main contaminant of the soil was As, with an average concentration of 4,624 mg/kg at Myoungbong and 5,590 mg/kg at Songcheon. A. ferrooxidans and A. thiooxidans generated lower pH conditions during their metabolism process. The bioleaching of As from soil has a higher removal efficiency than chemical leaching. A. ferrooxidans could remove 70 % of the As from the Myoungbong and Songcheon soils; however, A. thiooxidans extracted only 40 % of the As from the Myoungbong soil. This study shows that bioleaching is an effective process for As removal from soil.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Acidithiobacillus / metabolism*
  • Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans / metabolism
  • Arsenic / metabolism*
  • Biodegradation, Environmental
  • Environmental Restoration and Remediation / methods*
  • Oxidation-Reduction
  • Republic of Korea
  • Soil Microbiology*
  • Soil Pollutants / metabolism*
  • Spectrophotometry, Atomic
  • X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

  • Soil Pollutants
  • Arsenic