Uranium Repartitioning during Microbial Driven Reductive Transformation of U(VI)-Sorbed Schwertmannite and Jarosite.
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Yu C, Johnson A, Karlsson A, Chernikov R, Sjöberg V, Song Z, Dopson M, Åström ME
Environ. Sci. Technol. 58 (41) 18324-18334 [2024-10-15; online 2024-10-03]
This study exposes U(VI)-sorbed schwertmannite and jarosite to biotic reductive incubations under field-relevant conditions and examines the changes in aqueous and solid-phase speciation of U, Fe, and S as well as associated microbial communities over 180 days. The chemical, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and microscopic data demonstrated that the U(VI)-sorbed schwertmannite underwent a rapid reductive dissolution and solid-phase transformation to goethite, during which the surface-sorbed U(VI) was partly reduced and mostly repartitioned to monomeric U(VI)/U(IV) complexes by carboxyl and phosphoryl ligands on biomass or organic substances. Furthermore, the microbial data suggest that these processes were likely driven by the consecutive developments of fermentative and sulfate- and iron- reducing microbial communities. In contrast, the U(VI)-sorbed jarosite only stimulated the growth of some fermentative communities and underwent very limited reductive dissolution and thus, remaining in its initial state with no detectable mineralogical transformation and solid-phase U reduction/repartitioning. Accordingly, these two biotic incubations did not induce increased risk of U reliberation to the aqueous phase. These findings have important implications for understanding the interactions of schwertmannite/jarosite with microbial communities and colinked behavior and fate of U following the establishment of reducing conditions in various acidic and U-rich settings.
Bioinformatics Support for Computational Resources [Service]
PubMed 39361056
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.4c03645
Crossref 10.1021/acs.est.4c03645