Abiotic Reductive Immobilization of U(VI) by Biogenic Mackinawite
During subsurface bioremediation of uranium-contaminated sites, indigenous metal and sulfate-reducing bacteria may utilize a variety of electron acceptors, including ferric iron and sulfate that could lead to the formation of various biogenic minerals in-situ. Sulfides, as well as structural and adsorbed Fe(II) associated with biogenic Fe(II)-sulfide phases, can potentially catalyze abiotic U6+ reduction via direct electron transfer processes. In the present work, the propensity of biogenic mackinawite (Fe1+xS, x = 0 to 0.11) to reduce U6+ abiotically was investigated. The biogenic mackinawite produced by Shewanella putrefaciens strain CN32 was characterized by employing a suite of analytical techniques including TEM, SEM, XAS and Mössbauer analyses. Nanoscale and bulk analyses (microscopic and spectroscopic techniques, respectively) of biogenic mackinawite after exposure to U6+ indicate the formation of nanoparticulate UO2. This study suggests the relevance of Fe(II) and sulfide bearing biogenic minerals in mediating abiotic U6+ reduction, an alternative pathway in addition to direct enzymatic U6+ reduction.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1068646
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-SA-91214; KP1702030
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 47, Issue 5; ISSN 0013-936X
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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