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Comparison of bioleaching behaviors of different compositional sphalerite using Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus caldus

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Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

Two sphalerite samples with different iron/sulphur (Fe/S) ratios, Shuikousan ore (Fe/S 0.2) and Dachang ore (Fe/S 0.52), were processed using three microbial species, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus caldus. Following 20 days of bioleaching in shake flask cultures, a higher zinc (Zn) extraction (96%) was achieved with Shuikousan ore than with Dachange ore (72%). The extraction efficiency increased when elemental S was added to Dachang ore to attain the same Fe/S ratio as that for Shuikousan ore. Following the addition of S, the redox potential, pH and total dissolved Fe for Dachang ore demonstrated similar behaviors to those of Shuikousan ore. Acidithiobacillus caldus and L. ferriphilum became the dominant species during the bioleaching of sphalerite with a high Fe/S ratio. In contrast, the dominant species were A. ferrooxidans and A. caldus during the bioleaching of sphalerite with a low Fe/S ratio. These results show that the Fe/S ratio has a significant influence on the bioleaching behavior of sphalerite and the composition of the microbial community.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Founding Group (20803094, 50621063), National Basic Research Program of People’s Republic of China (No. 2004CB619204), and FANEDD (200549).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Biohydrometallurgy of Ministry of Education, School of Resources Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, 410083, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Lexian **a, Yuehua Hu & Jianshe Liu

  2. Department of Bioengineering, School of Resources Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, 410083, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Chu Yin & Guanzhou Qiu

  3. Dongguan institute of Environmental sciences, 523011, Dongguan, People’s Republic of China

    Songlin Dai

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  1. Lexian **a
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  2. Songlin Dai
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  3. Chu Yin
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  4. Yuehua Hu
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  5. Jianshe Liu
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  6. Guanzhou Qiu
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Correspondence to Jianshe Liu or Guanzhou Qiu.

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**a, L., Dai, S., Yin, C. et al. Comparison of bioleaching behaviors of different compositional sphalerite using Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus caldus . J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 36, 845–851 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-009-0560-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-009-0560-9

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