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Influence of the surface speciation on biofilm attachment to chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Surfaces of massive chalcopyrite (CuFeS2) electrodes were modified by applying variable oxidation potential pulses under growth media in order to induce the formation of different secondary phases (e.g., copper-rich polysulfides, S n 2−; elemental sulfur, S0; and covellite, CuS). The evolution of reactivity (oxidation capacity) of the resulting chalcopyrite surfaces considers a transition from passive or inactive (containing CuS and S n 2−) to active (containing increasing amounts of S0) phases. Modified surfaces were incubated with cells of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans) for 24 h in a specific culture medium (pH 2). Abiotic control experiments were also performed to compare chemical and biological oxidation. After incubation, the density of cells attached to chalcopyrite surfaces, the structure of the formed biofilm, and their exopolysaccharides and nucleic acids were analyzed by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and scanning electron microscopy coupled to dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDS). Additionally, CuS and S n 2−/S0 speciation, as well as secondary phase evolution, was carried out on biooxidized and abiotic chalcopyrite surfaces using Raman spectroscopy and SEM-EDS. Our results indicate that oxidized chalcopyrite surfaces initially containing inactive S n 2− and S n 2−/CuS phases were less colonized by A. thiooxidans as compared with surfaces containing active phases (mainly S0). Furthermore, it was observed that cells were partially covered by CuS and S0 phases during biooxidation, especially at highly oxidized chalcopyrite surfaces, suggesting the innocuous effect of CuS phases during A. thiooxidans performance. These results may contribute to understanding the effect of the concomitant formation of refractory secondary phases (as CuS and inactive S n 2−) during the biooxidation of chalcopyrite by sulfur-oxidizing microorganisms in bioleaching systems.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this work comes from the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT; project nos. CB-2005-49321 and CB-2008-01-105655). René H. Lara thanks CONACyT for his postdoctoral fellowship. The authors thank Dr. Amauri Pozos and Dr. Hugo R. Navarro-Contreras for access to the CLSM (Basics Sciences Laboratory) and Raman spectroscopy (CIACyT) equipment at UASLP, respectively. The authors also thank Erasmo Mata-Martinez for mineral coupons preparation, Francisco Galindo-Murillo for MPE preparation, Keila N. Alvarado-Estrada for CLSM analysis at UASLP, and Dr. Jesús D. Sepúlveda for the preparation of samples and SEM images of eMCEs covered by biofilms at UAM-Iztapalapa. This work is part of an ongoing collaboration between UJED (CA-UJED-105), UASLP (CA-UASLP-178), and UAM-I (UAM-I-CA-34).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Area de Electroquímica, Departamento de Química, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, 09340, México DF, Mexico

    René H. Lara & Ignacio González

  2. Instituto de Metalurgia, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, 78210, San Luis Potosí, Mexico

    J. Viridiana García-Meza & Roel Cruz

  3. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango (UJED), Av. Veterinaria S/N, Circuito Universitario, Col. Valle del Sur, 34120, Durango, Dgo, Mexico

    René H. Lara

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  1. René H. Lara
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  2. J. Viridiana García-Meza
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  3. Ignacio González
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  4. Roel Cruz
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Correspondence to René H. Lara.

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Lara, R.H., García-Meza, J.V., González, I. et al. Influence of the surface speciation on biofilm attachment to chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans . Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 97, 2711–2724 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-012-4099-8

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