Iron Transformations Induced by an Acid-Tolerant Desulfosporosinus Species

The mineralogical transformations of Fe phases induced by an acid-tolerant, Fe(III)- and sulfate-reducing bacterium, Desulfosporosinus sp. strain GBSRB4.2 were evaluated under geochemical conditions associated with acid mine drainage-impacted systems (i.e., low pH and high Fe concentrations). X-ray powder diffractometry coupled with magnetic analysis by first-order reversal curve diagrams were used to evaluate mineral phases produced by GBSRB4.2 in media containing different ratios of Fe(II) and Fe(III). In medium containing Fe predominately in the +II oxidation state, ferrimagnetic, single-domain greigite (Fe₃S₄) was formed, but the addition of Fe(III) inhibited greigite formation. In media that contained abundant Fe(III) [as schwertmannite; Fe₈O₈(OH)₆SO₄ · nH₂O], the activities of strain GBSRB4.2 enhanced the transformation of schwertmannite to goethite (α-FeOOH), due to the increased pH and Fe(II) concentrations that resulted from the activities of GBSRB4.2.