Effects of Initial pH and Carbonate Rock Dosage on Bio-Oxidation and Secondary Iron Mineral Synthesis

The effect of pH is a key factor in biomineralization mediated by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to promote the transformation of Fe into secondary iron minerals. This study aimed to investigate the effects of initial pH and carbonate rock dosage on bio-oxidation and secondary iron mineral synthesis. Variations in pH and the concentrations of Ca(2+), Fe(2+), and total Fe (TFe) in the growth medium of A. ferrooxidans were examined in the laboratory to determine how they affect the bio-oxidation process and secondary iron mineral synthesis. The results showed that in systems with an initial pH of 1.8, 2.3, and 2.8, the optimum dosages of carbonate rock were 30, 10, and 10 g, respectively, which significantly improved the removal rate of TFe and the amount of sediments. At an initial pH of 1.8 and a carbonate rock dosage of 30 g, the final removal rate of TFe reached 67.37%, which was 28.03% higher than that of the system without the addition of carbonate rock, and 36.9 g·L(−1) of sediments were generated, which was higher than that of the system without the addition of carbonate rock (6.6 g·L(−1)). Meanwhile, the number of sediments generated by adding carbonate rock were significantly higher than those without the addition of carbonate rock. The secondary minerals were characterized by a progressive transition from low crystalline assemblages composed of calcium sulfate and subordinated jarosite, to well crystal-line assemblages composed of jarosite, calcium sulfate, and goethite. These results have important implications for comprehensively understanding the dosage of carbonate rock in mineral formation under different pH conditions. The findings help reveal the growth of secondary minerals during the treatment of AMD using carbonate rocks under low-pH conditions, which offers valuable information for combining the carbonate rocks with secondary minerals to treat AMD.