Progress on research of microbe-mineral interaction and interfacial micro-analysis

Abstract:

Microbe-mineral interfacial interaction plays an important role in bioleaching process. It could be affected by the multi-influential factors among the metabolic characteristic of the microbes, state of the mineral surface structure, chemical speciation and the environmental factors. Researches on selective adsorption of microbes, conversion in mineral surface chemical speciation and passivation layer structure, microbial community and iron/sulfur oxidizing activities, and the composition and properties of extracellular polymer substance can help us to better understand the microbe-mineral interaction mechanism accompanying with its key influential factors and influential mechanism. This researches can also provide scientific base for optimization of the bioleaching techniques. In order to achieve these purposes, the progress in methodology and techniques for in situ (micro) analysis of the interfacial interaction is also pivotal. In this article, we reviewed the progresses on research of microbe-mineral interaction and interfacial micro-analysis in the recent years.

Key words:Microbe-mineral interaction, Speciation transformation, Extracellular polymeric substance, Oxidation activity, Interfacial interaction