Research Article

Arsenic Precipitation in the Bioleaching of Realgar Using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

Figure 3

XRD patterns of arsenic precipitates observed on A. ferrooxidans BY-3 cells. The powder XRD analyses of the raw sample and the residual bioleaching were conducted on a multipurpose X-ray diffraction system (X’Pert-Pro MPD, Philips) with Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.15406 nm) operated at 40 kV and 40 mA. The diffraction patterns were obtained by scanning the sample in interval angles of 2θ from 5.0084° to 79.9784°. Data analysis and phase identification were performed using the X’Pert High Score Plus software package version 2.2 (PANalytical B.V. Almelo, The Netherlands). (a) Pristine: A. ferrooxidans BY-3 in the medium without realgar. (b) As-loaded: A. ferrooxidans BY-3 in the medium with realgar. A: Magnetite/Fe3O4, B: jarosite, C: hydroniumjarosite, D: ammoniojarosite, E: arsenic sulfide/AsS, F: mackinawite/tetragonal FeS, G: ferric arsenate, H: potassium arsenate, and K: sodium hydrogen arsenite.
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(a)
424253.fig.003b
(b)