arsenopyrite and arsenic-acid

The bio-oxidative dissolution of arsenopyrite, the most severe arsenic contamination source, can be mediated by organic substances, but pertinent studies on this subject are scarce. In this study, the bio-oxidative dissolution of arsenopyrite by Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans and arsenic immobilization were evaluated in the presence of humic acid (HA). The mineral dissolution was monitored through analyses of the parameters in solution, phase and element speciation transformations on the mineral surface, and arsenic immobilization on the surfaces of cells and jarosites-HA. The results show that the presence of HA enhances the dissolution of arsenopyrite, e.g., 7.1% of arsenopyrite was in the residue after 12 d of bio-oxidation compared to 19.3% in the absence of HA. Meanwhile, the presence of HA led to changes of the fates of As and Fe and no accumulation of elemental sulfur (S

Topics: Arsenates; Arsenicals; Arsenites; Biodegradation, Environmental; Clostridiales; Ferric Compounds; Humic Substances; Iron Compounds; Minerals; Models, Theoretical; Oxidation-Reduction; Solubility; Sulfates; Sulfides; Surface Properties

Two sets of arsenic resistance genes were isolated from the highly arsenic-resistant Leptospirillum ferriphilum Fairview strain. One set is located on a transposon, TnLfArs, and is related to the previously identified TnAtcArs from Acidithiobacillus caldus isolated from the same arsenopyrite biooxidation tank as L. ferriphilum. TnLfArs conferred resistance to arsenite and arsenate and was transpositionally active in Escherichia coli. TnLfArs and TnAtcArs were sufficiently different for them not to have been transferred from one type of bacterium to the other in the biooxidation tank. The second set of arsenic resistance genes conferred very low levels of resistance in E. coli and appeared to be poorly expressed in both L. ferriphilum and E. coli.

Topics: Arsenates; Arsenicals; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins; Bioreactors; DNA Transposable Elements; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Escherichia coli; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Gold; Iron Compounds; Minerals; Mining; Molecular Sequence Data; Oxidation-Reduction; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Sulfides