• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.15 no.3
• /
• pp.231-240
• /
• 2002

Microbial metal reduction influences the biogeochemical cycles of carbon and metals as well as plays an important role in the bioremediation of metals, radionuclides, and organic contaminants. The use of bacteria to facilitate the production of magnetite nanoparticles and the formation of carbonate minerals may provide new biotechnological processes for material synthesis and carbon sequestration. Metal-reducing bacteria were isolated from a variety of extreme environments, such as deep terrestrial subsurface, deep marine sediments, water near Hydrothemal vents, and alkaline ponds. Metal-reducing bacteria isolated from diverse extreme environments were able to reduce Fe(III), Mn(IV), Cr(VI), Co(III), and U(VI) using short chain fatty acids and/or hydrogen as the electron donors. These bacteria exhibited diverse mineral precipitation capabilities including the formation of magnetite ($Fe_3$$O_4$), siderite ($FeCO_3$), calcite ($CaCO_3$), rhodochrosite ($MnCO_3$), vivianite [$Fe_3$($PO_4$)$_2$ .$8H_2$O], and uraninite ($UO_2$). Geochemical and environmental factors such as atmospheres, chemical milieu, and species of bacteria affected the extent of Fe(III)-reduction as well as the mineralogy and morphology of the crystalline iron mineral phases. Thermophilic bacteria use amorphous Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide plus metals (Co, Cr, Ni) as an electron acceptor and organic carbon as an electron donor to synthesize metal-substituted magnetite. Metal reducing bacteria were capable of $CO_2$conversion Into sparingly soluble carbonate minerals, such as siderite and calcite using amorphous Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide or metal-rich fly ash. These results indicate that microbial Fe(III)-reduction may not only play important roles in iron and carbon biogeochemistry in natural environments, but also be potentially useful f3r the synthesis of submicron-sized ferromagnetic materials.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.47 no.4
• /
• pp.431-439
• /
• 2014

The purposes of this research were to investigate the enrichment of metal-reducing bacteria from KURT groundwater and the identification of the microbial diversity by 16S rRNA as well as to examine microbial Fe(III)/Mn(IV) reduction and to analyze morphological features of interactions between microbes and precipitates and their mineralogical composition. To cultivate metal-reducing bacteria from groundwater sampled at the KURT in S. Korea, different electron donors such as glucose, acetate, lactate, formate, pyruvate and Fe(III)-citrate as an electron accepter were added into growth media. The enriched culture was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis for the diversity of microbial species. The effect of electron donors (i.e., glucose, acetate, lactate, formate, pyruvate) and electron acceptors (i.e., akaganeite, manganese oxide) on microbial iron/manganese reduction and biomineralization were examined using the 1st enriched culture, respectively. SEM, EDX, and XRD analyses were used to determine morphological features, chemical composition of microbes and mineralogical characteristics of the iron and manganese minerals. Based on 16S rRNA gene analysis, the four species, Fusibacter, Desulfuromonas, Actinobacteria, Pseudomonas sp., from KURT groundwater were identified as anaerobic metal reducers and these microbes precipitated metals outside of cells in common. XRD and EDX analyses showed that Fe(III)-containing mineral, akaganeite (${\beta}$-FeOOH), reduced into Fe(II)/Fe(III)-containing magnetite ($Fe_3O_4$) and Mn(IV)-containing manganese oxide (${\lambda}-MnO_2$) into Mn(II)-containing rhodochrosite ($MnCO_3$) by the microbes. These results implicate that microbial metabolism and respiratory activities under anaerobic condition result in reduction and biomineralization of iron and manganese minerals. Therefore, the microbes cultivated from groundwater in KURT might play a major role to reduce various metals from highly toxic, mobile to less toxic, immobile.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.349-356
• /
• 2003

As industrial activities are growing, pollutants found in the contaminated land are getting diverse. Some contaminated areas are subject to mixed wastes containing both organic and inorganic wastes such as hydrocarbon and heavy metals. This study concerns with the influence of the degradation of organic pollutants on the coexisting heavy metals, expecially for As. As mainly exists as two different oxidation state; As(III) and As(V) and the conversion between the two chemical forms may be induced by organic degradation in the soil contaminated by mixed wastes. We operated microcosm in an anaerobic chamber for 60 days, using sandy loam. The soils in the microcosm are artificially contaminated both by tetradecane and As, with different combination of As(III) and As(V); As(III):As(V) 1:1, As(III) only and As(V) only. Although not systematic, ratio of As(III)/As(Total) increase slightly at the later stage of experiment. Considering complicated geochemical reactions involving oxidation/reduction of organic materials, Mn/Fe oxides and As, the findings in the study seem to indicate the degradation of the organics is connected with the As speciation. That is to say, the As(V) can be reduced to As(III) either by direct or indirect influence induced by the organic degradation. Although Fe and Mn are good oxidising agent for the oxidation of As(III) to As(V), organic degradation may have suppressed reductive dissolution of the Fe and Mn oxides, causing the organic pollutants to retard the oxidation of As(III) to As(V) until the organic degradation ceases. The possible influence of organic degradation on the As speciation implies that the As in mixed wastes may be have elevated toxicity and mobility by partial conversion from As(V) to As(III).

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.395-401
• /
• 2009

The smectite-illite (SI) reaction is a ubiquitous process in siliciclastic sedimentary environments. For the last 4 decades the importance of smectite to illite (S-I) reaction was described in research papers and reports, as the degree of the (S-I) reaction, termed "smectite illitization", is linked to the exploration of hydrocarbons, and geochemical/petrophysical indicators. The S-I transformation has been thought that the reaction, explained either by layer-by-layer mechanism in the solid state or dissolution/reprecipitation process, was entirely abiotic and to require burial, heat, and time to proceed, however few studies have taken into account the bacterial activity. Recent laboratory studies showed evidence suggesting that the structural ferric iron (Fe(III)) in clay minerals can be reduced by microbial activity and the role of microorganisms is to link organic matter oxidation to metal reduction, resulting in the S-I transformation. In abiotic systems, elevated temperatures are typically used in laboratory experiments to accelerate the smectite to illite reaction in order to compensate for a long geological time in nature. However, in biotic systems, bacteria may catalyze the reaction and elevated temperature or prolonged time may not be necessary. Despite the important role of microbe in S-I reaction, factors that control the reaction mechanism are not clearly addressed yet. This paper, therefore, overviews the current status of microbially mediated smectite-to-illite reaction studies and characterization techniques.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
• /
• v.32 no.1
• /
• pp.63-69
• /
• 2019

The oxidation states of structural Fe in minerals reflect the paleo-depositional redox conditions for the biologically or abiotically induced mineral formation. Particularly, nano-scale analysis using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is necessary to identify evidence for the microbial role in the biomineralization. HRTEM-EELS analysis of oxidation states of structural Fe and carbon bonding structure differentiate biological factors in mineralization by mapping the distribution of Fe(II)/Fe(III) and source of organic C. HRTEM-EELS technique provides geomicrobiologists with the direct nano-scale evidence of microbe-mineral interaction.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
• /
• v.10 no.1
• /
• pp.38-46
• /
• 2005

This study was carried out to quantify the rates of anaerobic mineralization and sulfate reduction, and to discuss the potential effects of benthic fauna on sulfate reduction in total anaerobic carbon respiration in Ganghwa intertidal flat in Korea. Anaerobic carbon mineralization rates ranged from 26 to 85 mmol $C\;m^{-2}\;d^{-1}$, which accounted for approximately 46 tons of daily organic matter mineralization in the intertidal flat of southern part of the Ganghwa Island (approximately $90\;km^2$). Sulfate reduction ranged from 22.6 to 533.4 nmol $cm^{-3}\;d^{-1}$, and were responsible for $31{\sim}129%$ of total anaerobic carbon oxidation, which indicated that sulfate reduction was a dominant pathway for anaerobic carbon oxidation in the study area. On the other hand, the partitioning of sulfate reduction in anaerobic carbon mineralization in October decreased, whereas concentrations of Fe(II) in the pore water increased. The results implied that the re-oxidation of Fe(II) in the sediments is stimulated by macrobenthic activity, leading to an increased supply of reactive Fe(II), and thereby increasing Fe(III) reduction to depress sulfate reduction during carbon oxidation.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.336-342
• /
• 2010

In a pot experiment, we studied the effect of nitrification inhibition on Fe reduction and P release in paddy soil and growth and nutrient uptake of rice plant. Recommended level of fertilizers, 6 kg N, 5 kg $P_2O_5$ and 4 kg $K_2O$ per 10a, were applied, and for N fertilizer urea, urea+N-serve, and $KNO_3$ were included. Four 30-day-old seedlings were transplanted in a waterlogged 9 L pot filled with Yuga series soil, and 3 pots were prepared in each N fertilizer treatment. Changes of soil redox potential and concentration of ${NH_4}^-$, ${NO_3}^-$, $Fe^{2+}$ and ${PO_4}^{3-}$ in soil solution at 10 cm depth were monitored, and also the growth and nutrient uptake of rice plants were measured. Concentration of ${NH_4}^+$ in soil solution was highest in urea+N-serve treatment, and followed by urea and $KNO_3$ treatments. Addition of N-serve could effectively inhibit nitrification in the soil. In the treatment of $KNO_3$, relatively higher ${NO_3}^-$ concentration was found at 10 cm depth soil. In urea+N-serve treatment redox potential was lower than -100 mV during the experiment, but in the treatment of $KNO_3$ the potential was maintained above 0 mV until ${NO_3}^-$ remaining in soil solution. Reduction of Fe(III) and solubilization of P were highly correlated with redox potential changes in the three N fertilizer treatments. Concentrations of Fe(II) and ${PO_4}^{3-}$ in soil solution at 10 cm depth were much higher in the urea+N-serve treatment. The most vigorous rice seedling growth was found in the urea treatment. Although the availability of N and P in soil was enhanced in the urea+N-serve treatment through the suppression of nitrification, excessive solubilization of Fe could limit the growth of rice plants.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.40 no.1 s.182
• /
• pp.29-45
• /
• 2007

Biogeochemical characteristics involving redox processes in groundwater from a riverine alluvial aquifer was investigated using multi-level monitoring wells (up to 30m in depth). Anaerobic conditions were predominant and high Fe ($14{\sim}37mg/L$) and Mn ($1{\sim}4mg/L$) concentrations were observed at 10 to 20 m in depth. Below 20 m depth, dissolved sulfide was detected. Presumably, these high Fe and Mn concentrations were derived from the reduction of Fe- and Mn-oxides because dissolved oxygen and nitrate were nearly absent and Fe and Mn contents were considerable in the sediments. The depth range of high Mn concentration is wider than that of high Fe concentration. Dissolved organics may be derived from the upper layers. Sulfate reduction is more active than Fe and Mn reduction below 20 m in depth. Disparity of calculated redox potential from the various redox couples indicates that redox states are in disequilibrium condition in groundwater. Carbonate minerals such as siderite and rhodochrosite may control the dissolved concentrations of Fe(II) and Mn(II), and iron sulfide minerals control for Fe(II) where sulfide is detected because these minerals are near saturation from the calculation of solubility equilibria.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
• /
• v.33 no.3
• /
• pp.309-314
• /
• 1989

A kinetic study was carried out for the redox reaction of cis-$[Co(en)_2(N_3)_2]^+$ with Fe(II) in acidic solution by spectrophotometric methods. This redox reaction system have been found to show a third order for overall reaction as the respective first order with respect to reactant cis-$[Co(en)_2(N_3)_2]^+$, Fe(II), and $H^+$ catalyst. The activation parameters, ${\Delta}H^{\neq}$ and ${\Delta}S^{\neq}$, were obtained as 14.2Kcal/mol and -16.7 e.u., respectively. On the basis of the kinetic data, we suggest that the redox reaction system proceeds via inner sphere mechanism. The rate equation derived from the proposed mechanism is in agreement with the observed rate equation.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.41-48
• /
• 2007

Zevo-valent iron (ZVI) has been widely used in permeable reactive barriers for reducing organic contaminants, such as trichloroethylene (TCE). The rapid reaction time, however, leads to decrease in reactivity and availability of ZVI. Shewanella algae BrY, a strain of dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria, can reduce the oxidized Fe (III) to Fe (II) and reduced Fe (II) can be reused to reduce the contaminant. The effect of Shewanella algae BrY on the reduction of the oxidized ZVI column and further TCE removal in the contaminated groundwater were studied at different flow rates and TCE input concentrations in this study. High input concentration of TCE and flow rate increase the amount of input contaminant and make to lower the effect of reduction by Shewanella algae BrY. Specially, the fast flow rate inhibits the direct contact and implantation on the surface of iron. The reduction of oxidized iron reactive barrier by Shewanella algae BrY can decrease the decreation of duration of PRBs by the precipitation of oxidized iron produced by dechlorination of TCE.