Biological reduction of iron to the elemental state from ochre deposits of Skelton Beck in Northeast England

Abstract

Ochre, consequence of acid mine drainage (AMD), is iron oxides-rich soil pigments that can be found in the water drainage from historic base metal and coal mines. The anaerobic strains of Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella denitrificans were used for the microbial reduction of iron from samples of ochre collected from Skelton Beck (Saltburn Orange River, NZ 66738 21588) in Northeast England. The aim of the research was to determine the ability of the two anaerobic bacteria to reduce the iron present in ochre and to determine the rate of the reduction process. The physico-chemical changes in the ochre sample after the microbial reduction process were observed by the production of zero-valent iron which was later confirmed by the detection of elemental Fe in XRD spectrum. The X-Ray fluorescence (XRF) results revealed that 69.16 and 84.82% of iron oxide can be reduced using G. sulfurreducens and S. denitrificans respectively after 8 days of incubation. These results could provide the basis for the development of a biohydrometallurgical process for the production of elemental iron from ochre sediments.

Recent bioreduction of hexavalent chromium in wastewater treatment: A review

“…The conventional processes are complex due to the different intensive sub-processes and use of large amounts of chemicals and generation of toxic sludges. [13,42,43] Carbothermal reduction of Cr(VI) was conducted by adding carbon at temperature ranging from 1000 to 1400 o C in a TGA apparatus with particle size limitation of the Cr(VI) contaminated soil sample [27]. To achieve a complete reduction 15% carbon was added to soil, however, evaluation of CO2 emission was ignored during the process.…”

Formation of Zerovalent Iron in Iron-Reducing Cultures of Methanosarcina barkeri

“…The reverse processthat is, the reduction of oxidized iron to ZVIhas also been observed in some abiotic reactions. − One example is the formation of Fe(0) in awaruite, a nickel and iron-containing alloy, in serpentinizing environments . Several studies have also reported the reduction of Fe­(III) in aqueous tea-leaf extracts to ZVI. − However, to the best of our knowledge, only one study reported the presence of small X-ray diffraction peaks of Fe(0) in microbial enrichment cultures of Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella denitrificans that grew on ochre pigment …”

“…Several studies have also reported the reduction of Fe(III) in aqueous tea-leaf extracts to ZVI [32][33][34]. However, to the best of our knowledge, only one study reported the presence of small X-ray diffraction peaks of Fe(0) in microbial enrichment cultures of Geobacter sulfurreducens and Shewanella denitrificans that grew on ochre pigment [35].…”

Integrated Remediation Processes Toward Heavy Metal Removal/Recovery From Various Environments-A Review

“…Heavy metal pollution is caused as a result of both natural and anthropomorphic activities like mining, smelting, industrial production, using of metals, and metal containing compounds for domestic and agricultural applications. These sources were reported to contribute to human exposure and environmental contamination by various researchers (Herawati et al, 2000;Goyer, 2001;Zouboulis et al, 2004;He et al, 2005;Rahman and Bastola, 2014). The potential sources of environmental contaminations are shown in Figure 1.…”

“…This process of chemical-biological integrated treatment is considered to be a highly economical and eco-friendly alternative to treat heavy metals containing wastewater. Implementation of this integrated treatment than the individual chemical or biological treatment has been reported to be advantageous and has shown significant results of heavy metal removal by many researchers worldwide (Rahman and Murthy, 2005;Abdulla et al, 2010;Rahman and Bastola, 2014;Greenwell et al, 2016;Mao et al, 2016;Pradhan et al, 2017). When implied alone, both the treatments face, their merits, and demerits.…”