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MICROBIAL SULFATE REDUCTION AND METAL ATTENUATION IN PH 4 ACID MINE WATER
Citation:
CHURCH, C. D., R. T. WILKIN, C. N. ALPERS, R. O. RYE, AND R. B. McCleskey. MICROBIAL SULFATE REDUCTION AND METAL ATTENUATION IN PH 4 ACID MINE WATER. GEOCHEMICAL TRANSACTIONS. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 8(10):1, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
Journal article
Description:
Sediments recovered from the flooded mine workings of the Penn Mine, a Cu-Zn mine abandoned since the early 1960s, were cultured for anaerobic bacteria over a range of pH (4 to 7.5). The molecular biology of sediments and cultures was studied to determine whether sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) were active in acidic conditions previously not documented for SRB. Here we document multiple, independent analyses and show strong evidence that sulfate reduction and associated metal attenuation are occurring in the pH 4 mine environment. Water-chemistry analyses of the mine water reveal: (1) preferential complexation and precipitation by H2S of Cu and Cd, relative to Zn; (2) stable isotope ratios of 34S/32S and 18O/16O in dissolved SO4 that are 2-3 per mill heavier in the mine water, relative to those in surface waters; (3) reduction/oxidation conditions and dissolved gas concentrations consistent with conditions to support anaerobic processes such as sulfate reduction. SEM analyses of sediment show 1.5-micrometer, spherical ZnS precipitates. Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses of Penn Mine sediment show a high biomass level with a moderately diverse community composed primarily of iron- and sulfate-reducing bacteria. Cultures of sediment from the mine produced dissolved sulfide at pH values near 7 and near 4, forming precipitates of either iron sulfide or elemental sulfur. DGGE sequences of Penn Mine sediment and laboratory cultures were closely aligned to Desulfosporosinus and Desulfitobacterium.
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