Effects of oxyanions, natural organic matter, and bacterial cell numbers on the bioreduction of lepidocrocite (γ-FeOOH) and the formation of secondary mineralization products

Microbial reduction of Fe(III) oxides results in the production of Fe(II) and may lead to the subsequent formation of Fe(II)-bearing secondary mineralization products including magnetite, siderite, vivianite, chukanovite (ferrous hydroxy carbonate (FHC)), and green rust; however, the factors controlling the formation of specific Fe(II) phases are often not well-defined. This study examined effects of (i) a range of inorganic oxyanions (arsenate, borate, molybdate, phosphate, silicate, and tungstate), (ii) natural organic matter (citrate, oxalate, microbial extracellular polymeric substances [EPS], and humic substances), and (iii) the type and number of dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria on the bioreduction of lepidocrocite and formation of Fe(II)-bearing secondary mineralization products. The bioreduction kinetics clustered into two distinct Fe(II) production profiles. "Fast" Fe(II) production kinetics [19-24 mM Fe(II) d^-1] were accompanied by formation of magnetite and FHC in the unamended control and in systems amended with borate, oxalate, gellan EPS, or Pony Lake fulvic acid or having "low" cell numbers. Systems amended with arsenate, citrate, molybdate, phosphate, silicate, tungstate, EPS from Shewanella putrefaciens CN32, or humic substances derived from terrestrial plant material or with "high" cell numbers exhibited comparatively slow Fe(II) production kinetics [1.8-4.0 mM Fe(II) d^-1] and the formation of green rust. The results are consistent with a conceptual model whereby competitive sorption of more strongly bound anions blocks access of bacterial cells and reduced electron-shuttling compounds to sites on the iron oxide surface, thereby limiting the rate of bioreduction.