Kinetics of ferrous iron oxidation by thiobacillus ferrooxidans

In this study, the influences of initial ferrous ion concentration, pH value, sulfate radical concentration, and ferric ion concentration on growth characteristics of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans were studied, and kinetic equations of ferrous ion oxidation by T. ferrooxidans (the shortened form of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans) were established. The results showed that the rate constant (k) was maximum at an initial ferrous ion concentration of 9.0 g/L in the absence of sulfate radicals and ferric ions. The rate constants (k) were 2.46, 0.21, and 0.10 at pH 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5, which showed that Fe2+oxidation by T. ferrooxidans was reduced with increasing pH value. Kinetic rate constant changed little with sulfate radical concentration, indicating that sulfate radical concentration had little impact on the growth of T. ferrooxidans. In contrast, the reaction order was negative when ferric ion was added, which indicated that the reaction was prevented by ferric ion. © 2014 AAAR.