Characterization of Jarosite Formed upon Bacterial Oxidation of Ferrous Sulfate in a Packed-Bed Reactor.

A packed-bed bioreactor with activated-carbon particles as a carrier matrix material inoculated with Thiobacillus ferrooxidans was operated at a pH of 1.35 to 1.5 to convert ferrous sulfate to ferric sulfate. Despite the low operating pH, trace amounts of precipitates were produced in both the reactor and the oxidized effluent. X-ray diffraction and chemical analyses indicated that the precipitates were well-ordered potassium jarosite. The chemical analyses also revealed a relative deficiency of Fe and an excess of S in the reactor sample compared with the theoretical composition of potassium jarosite.