Redox-stat bioreactors for elucidating mobilisation mechanisms of trace elements: An example of As-contaminated mining soils
Loading...
Authors
Author (Corporation)
Publication date
2018
Typ of student thesis
Course of study
Collections
Type
01A - Journal article
Editors
Editor (Corporation)
Supervisor
Parent work
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
Special issue
DOI of the original publication
Series
Series number
Volume
102
Issue / Number
17
Pages / Duration
Patent number
Publisher / Publishing institution
Springer
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
Version
Programming language
Assignee
Practice partner / Client
Abstract
The environmental fate of major (e.g. C, N, S, Fe and Mn) and trace (e.g. As, Cr, Sb, Se and U) elements is governed by microbially catalysed reduction-oxidation (redox) reactions. Mesocosms are routinely used to elucidate trace metal fate on the basis of correlations between biogeochemical proxies such as dissolved element concentrations, trace element speciation and dissolved organic matter. However, several redox processes may proceed simultaneously in natural soils and sediments (particularly, reductive Mn and Fe dissolution and metal/metalloid reduction), having a contrasting effect on element mobility. Here, a novel redox-stat (Rcont) bioreactor allowed precise control of the redox potential (159 ± 11 mV, ~ 2 months), suppressing redox reactions thermodynamically favoured at lower redox potential (i.e. reductive mobilisation of Fe and As). For a historically contaminated mining soil, As release could be attributed to desorption of arsenite [As(III)] and Mn reductive dissolution. By contrast, the control bioreactor (Rnat, with naturally developing redox potential) showed almost double As release (337 vs. 181 μg g−1) due to reductive dissolution of Fe (1363 μg g−1 Fe2+ released; no Fe2+ detected in Rcont) and microbial arsenate [As(V)] reduction (189 μg g−1 released vs. 46 μg g−1 As(III) in Rcont). A redox-stat bioreactor thus represents a versatile tool to study processes underlying mobilisation and sequestration of other trace elements as well.
Keywords
Arsenic remediation, Redox-stat bioreactor, Trace element fate
Subject (DDC)
Event
Exhibition start date
Exhibition end date
Conference start date
Conference end date
Date of the last check
ISBN
ISSN
1432-0614
0175-7598
0175-7598
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
License
Citation
Rajpert, L., Schäffer, A., & Lenz, M. (2018). Redox-stat bioreactors for elucidating mobilisation mechanisms of trace elements: An example of As-contaminated mining soils. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 102(17). https://doi.org/10.26041/fhnw-1533