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Reduction of structural Fe(III) in oxyhydroxides by Shewanella decolorationis S12 and characterization of the surface properties of iron minerals

  • SOILS, SEC 5 • SOIL AND LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY • RESEARCH ARTICLE
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

Dissimilatory iron reduction is an important iron biogeochemical process in subsurface soils. Many researchers have studied the effects of various factors on this process. However, this process in the natural environment is complicated; thus, all the factors should be investigated systematically and simultaneously. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of Fe(III) availability, surface areas, and crystallinity on Fe(III) reduction in different buffers and to characterize the surface properties of iron minerals.

Materials and methods

Microbial reductions of four chemically synthesized iron(III) oxyhydroxides [i.e., hydrous ferric oxide (HFO), α-FeOOH, γ-FeOOH, and α-Fe2O3] were conducted in batch cultures inoculated with an iron-reducing bacterium, Shewanella decolorationis S12, in Piperazine-1,4-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) (PIPES) and Na2HPO4/NaH2PO4 (phosphate buffer solution; PBS) buffers. The hydroxylamine hydrochloride extraction process was employed to determine Fe(III) availability of the oxyhydroxides, and their total surface area was measured using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method. Different α-Fe2O3 crystalline degrees were prepared by sintering γ-FeOOH powder from 300°C to 800°C. The surface properties of iron minerals before and after reduction were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra.

Results and discussion

After 35 days of incubation, the order of Fe(III) reduction rates in the PIPES buffer was as follows: HFO > γ-FeOOH > α-FeOOH > α-Fe2O3, while that in the PBS buffer was as follows: HFO > α-FeOOH > γ-FeOOH > α-Fe2O3. The Michaelis–Menten rate expression was fit to describe the dependence of reduction rates on the available Fe(III). The reduction rates were positively correlated with the surface area but negatively correlated with the crystalline degree. The XRD and FTIR results coupled with the color changes in suspensions showed that in the PIPES buffer, HFO and γ-FeOOH were reduced to magnetite but no obvious change was found on the surfaces of α-FeOOH and α-Fe2O3. All iron oxyhydroxides were predominantly reduced to vivianite in the PBS buffer.

Conclusions

The present study suggested that S. decolorationis S12 can reduce different structural Fe(III) phases under anaerobic conditions. Iron minerals with higher Fe(III) availability and surface area can result in higher reduction rate, whereas high crystalline degree is not favorable for Fe(III) reduction. Magnetite was the dominant secondary mineral produced from the reduction of HFO and γ-FeOOH in the PIPES buffer, while that was vivianite upon the bioreduction of all iron oxyhydroxides in the PBS buffer.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 40901114, 41101217), the “973” Program (no. 2010CB134508)”, Guangzhou Technology Support Project (no. 2009Z1–E541), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (no. S2011040001094), and Excellent Young Scientist Foundation in Guangdong Academy of Sciences (2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Environment Pollution Integrated Control, Guangdong Institute of Eco-Environmental and Soil Sciences, Guangzhou, 510650, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaomin Li, Tongxu Liu, Fangbai Li, Wei Zhang & Shungui Zhou

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Water and Soil Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, Shanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Tongxu Liu

  3. College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaomin Li & Yongtao Li

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  1. Xiaomin Li
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  2. Tongxu Liu
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  3. Fangbai Li
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  4. Wei Zhang
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  5. Shungui Zhou
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Correspondence to Tongxu Liu or Fangbai Li.

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Responsible editor: Ji-Zheng He

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Li, X., Liu, T., Li, F. et al. Reduction of structural Fe(III) in oxyhydroxides by Shewanella decolorationis S12 and characterization of the surface properties of iron minerals. J Soils Sediments 12, 217–227 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0433-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0433-5

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