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The effects of different carbon sources on microbial mediation of arsenic in arsenic-contaminated sediment

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Abstract

Changes in speciation and mobility of As by indigenous bacteria in As-contaminated sediments (339 mg/kg) from an abandoned Au–Ag mine area in Korea were investigated after biostimulation with a variety of carbon sources, including acetate, lactate and glucose in batch experiments. Sequential extraction analysis designed to determine the form of As occurrence revealed that 40 and 47% of As were present in the sediment as Fe-associated and residual fractions, respectively. After 22-day incubation with acetate and lactate, the presence of indigenous bacteria increased the amount of total dissolved As from both Fe-associated and residual fractions in the sediment. More than 99% of dissolved As existed as As(V) in biotic slurries in contrast to sterile controls (less than 50% of total dissolved As), which indicated that indigenous bacteria transformed some dissolved As(III) to As(V). In real environments, depending on the pH, microbially-produced aqueous As(V) may be either immobilized through adsorption or reduced to As(III) after migration to the anoxic subsurface.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Geosystem and Environmental Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 500-757, Korea

    Jong-Un Lee & Chung-Han Yoon

  2. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju, 500-712, Korea

    Sang-Woo Lee & Kyoung-Woong Kim

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  1. Jong-Un Lee
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  2. Sang-Woo Lee
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Correspondence to Jong-Un Lee.

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Lee, JU., Lee, SW., Kim, KW. et al. The effects of different carbon sources on microbial mediation of arsenic in arsenic-contaminated sediment. Environ Geochem Health 27, 159–168 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-005-0133-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-005-0133-4

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