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A growth model for the continuous microbiological leaching of a zinc sulfide concentrate by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans
Author(s) -
Sanmugasunderam V.,
Branion R. M. R.,
Duncan D. W.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260270812
Subject(s) - thiobacillus ferrooxidans , leaching (pedology) , thiobacillus , sulfide , zinc , zinc sulfide , chemistry , metallurgy , hydrodesulfurization , substrate (aquarium) , sulfur , materials science , environmental science , geology , soil science , soil water , oceanography
The leaching of a zinc sulfide concentrate by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was investigated in continuous stirred tank reactors. A mathematical model for the growth of T. ferrooxidans on this solid substrate is presented and tested. Experimental leaching studies were done using two reactors in series with and without recycle of solids from the outlet of the first reactor back to its inlet. The proposed model fits the authors' experimental data well. However, comparison of the parameters calculated with those calculated from the data of others showed that a wide variation can exist; thus, the parameters seem to depend on the nature of the substrate. The area occupied on the sulfide surface by a bacterium was found to be 5.4 μm 2 . The calculated maximum specific growth rates ranged from 0.20 to 0.31 h −1 , and these values were dependent on whether they were observed in the first or second of the two reactors in series.