A KINETIC ASSESSMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL OXIDATION BY SULFOLOBUS-ACIDOCALDARIUS IN PYRITE DISSOLUTION

The relative contributions of biological and chemical reactions to the total rate of pyrite oxidation in the presence of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius were studied on the basis of experimental work coupled with mathematical modeling. Kinetic constants for the individual reactions were determined in independent experiments. The specific growth rate of cells on the pyrite surface, which is the only unknown parameter, was assumed to be (mu(s)=0.1 h-1) and justified by the agreement of the simulated results of a proposed model and the experimental results. The model includes: reversible adsorption, biological dissolution of pyrite by the adsorbed cells, chemical dissolution of pyrite accompanied by the reduction of ferric ions to ferrous ions, biochemical oxidation of ferrous ions to ferric ions by free cells, and change of the surface area of pyrite particles. It is suggested that the contributions of direct (biological) and indirect (chemical) reactions to the total rate of pyrite oxidation were in a ratio of 2:1.