Experimental measurements of short-term adsorption of
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans onto chalcopyrite
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans onto chalcopyrite
(1. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China;
2. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
2. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
Abstract: The influencing factors in adsorption such as adsorption time, pulp concentration, bacterial concentration, pH as well as ionic strength were investigated to explore the relationship among them and bacterial adsorption. The adsorption was a rapid process for bacterial adhesion to chalcopyrite. The extent of adsorption increased with increasing initial bacterial concentration and pulp concentration. The optimal pH for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans adsorption onto chalcopyrite surfaces was in the range of pH 1−3. The increase of ionic strength led to decrease in bacterial adsorption, which can be well explained by electric double layer theory. The adsorption behavior appeared to be controlled by both hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions at the interface of bacteria and mineral.
Key words: bacterial adsorption; chalcopyrite; ionic strength; hydrophobicity; Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans