Importance of the iron cycle in biohydrometallurgy
نویسندگان
چکیده
After the discovery in the 1940s that acid mine drainage was mainly a consequence of the metabolism of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms able to oxidize metal sulfides, mostly pyrite, much research has been performed to understand the ecology and the physiology of the microorganisms involved. At first, to prevent this environmental problem, and later to improve the efficiency of biohydrometallurgical processes. Until recently, bioenergetic considerations focused most of the attention on the sulfur oxidizing microorganisms. The demonstration that ferric iron was mainly responsible for the oxidation of pyrite has had profound implications not only on the comprehension of the phenomena but also on the microbial ecology of the correspondent systems. The Tinto River (Southwestern Spain) is an acidic environment with a high concentration of ferric iron generated by the metabolic activity of chemolithotrophic microorganisms growing in the rich complex sulfides of the Iberian Pyritic Belt (IPB). The use of conventional as well as molecular ecology tools identified the most representative members of the chemolithotrophic community of the Tinto Basin as prominent members of the iron cycle, highlighting the importance of this element in the oxidation of sulfides. Contrary to what was expected, the sulfur cycle seems to operate with rather low efficiency in the Tinto ecosystem. Interestingly enough, anaerobic geomicrobiology seems to play an important role in the system. All these observations strongly suggest that the iron cycle is extremely important for biohydrometallurgical processes in which sulfidic minerals are involved. An understanding of the properties of these versatile microorganisms and their ecology is essential to guarantee efficient and reliable biohydrometallurgical operations. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
منابع مشابه
Microbial copper resistance: importance in biohydrometallurgy
Industrial biomining has been extensively used for many years to recover valuable metals such as copper, gold, uranium and others. Furthermore, microorganisms involved in these processes can also be used to bioremediate places contaminated with acid and metals. These uses are possible due to the great metal resistance that these extreme acidophilic microorganisms possess. In this review, the mo...
متن کاملLow Cycle Fatigue Simulation of Valve Bridge Region in Cylinder Head Based on Critical Plane Model
The reason of this study is low cycle failure of cast iron cylinder head during the E5 standard durability test. The goal of the present investigation is durability test simulation and low cycle fatigue life evaluation of cast iron cylinder head. With uncouple structural analysis, preloads, thermal and mechanical load and boundary conditions are prescribed to finite element model of the cylinde...
متن کاملLife cycle assessment of steel production from iron scrap: a case study at a steel plant
Background and Objective: The steel industry is the world's largest consumer of energy. A large amount of iron waste is produced annually, which its use in the steel industry can be economic. The purpose of this study was to investigate the environmental impacts of the steelmaking from iron scrap as a raw material using a life cycle assessment (LCA) method. Materials and Methods: Simapro softw...
متن کاملAdsorption and Desorption Process of Chromium Ions Using Magnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles and Its Relevant Mechanism
In this study adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution by Fe3O4 nanoparticles was investigated. Desorption process and recovery of nanoparticles using different solutions were then carried out, and it was observed that NaOH (0.5M) can remove 90% of adsorbed chromium ions. Following the completion of adsorption/ desorption cycles, it was determined that nanoparticles have still had a high abil...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2006