The effect of CO _2 availability on the growth, iron oxidation and CO _2-fixation rates of pure cultures of Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

摘要

Understanding how bioleaching systems respond to the availability of CO _2 is essential to developing operating conditions that select for optimum microbial performance. Therefore, the effect of inlet gas and associated dissolved CO _2 concentration on the growth, iron oxidation and CO _2-fixation rates of pure cultures of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferriphilum was investigated in a batch stirred tank system. The minimum inlet CO _2 concentrations required to promote the growth of At. ferrooxidans and L. ferriphilum were 25 and 70ppm, respectively, and corresponded to dissolved CO _2 concentrations of 0.71 and 1.57μM (at 30°C and 37°C, respectively). An actively growing culture of L. ferriphilum was able to maintain growth at inlet CO _2 concentrations less than 30ppm (0.31-0.45μM in solution). The highest total new cell production and maximum specific growth rates from the stationary phase inocula were observed with CO _2 inlet concentrations less than that of air. In contrast, the amount of CO _2 fixed per new cell produced increased with increasing inlet CO _2 concentrations above 100ppm. Where inlet gas CO _2 concentrations were increased above that of air the additional CO _2 was consumed by the organisms but did not lead to increased cell production or significantly increase performance in terms of iron oxidation. It is proposed that At. ferrooxidans has two CO _2 uptake mechanisms, a high affinity system operating at low available CO _2 concentrations, which is subject to substrate inhibition and a low affinity system operating at higher available CO _2 concentrations. L. ferriphilum has a single uptake system characterised by a moderate CO _2 affinity. At. ferrooxidans performed better than L. ferriphilum at lower CO _2 availabilities, and was less affected by CO _2 starvation. Finally, the results demonstrate the limitations of using CO _2 uptake or ferrous iron oxidation data as indirect measures of cell growth and performance across varying physiological conditions.