Distinct Roles of Acidophiles in Complete Oxidation of High-Sulfur Ferric Leach Product of Zinc Sulfide Concentrate

Abstract

A two-step process, which involved ferric leaching with biologically generated solution and subsequent biooxidation with the microbial community, has been previously proposed for the processing of low-grade zinc sulfide concentrates. In this study, we carried out the process of complete biological oxidation of the product of ferric leaching of the zinc concentrate, which contained 9% of sphalerite, 5% of chalcopyrite, and 29.7% of elemental sulfur. After 21 days of biooxidation at 40 °C, sphalerite and chalcopyrite oxidation reached 99 and 69%, respectively, while the level of elemental sulfur oxidation was 97%. The biooxidation residue could be considered a waste product that is inert under aerobic conditions. The results of this study showed that zinc sulfide concentrate processing using a two-step treatment is efficient and promising. The microbial community, which developed during biooxidation, was dominated by Acidithiobacillus caldus, Leptospirillum ferriphilum, Ferroplasma acidiphilum, Sulfobacillus thermotolerans, S. thermosulfidooxidans, and Cuniculiplasma sp. At the same time, F. acidiphilum and A. caldus played crucial roles in the oxidation of sulfide minerals and elemental sulfur, respectively. The addition of L. ferriphilum to A. caldus during biooxidation of the ferric leach product proved to inhibit elemental sulfur oxidation.