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Title |
Biogenic Iron Sulfide Nanomineral Formation by Marine Consortia from the Saemangeum Coastal Tidal Flat: Implications for Treatment of Sulfate-Rich Wastewater in the Secondary Battery Industry
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Authors |
최수빈(Subin Choi) ; 서유진(Yujin Seo) ; 류혁진(Hyeoukjin Ryu) ; 이재건(Jaegeon Lee) ; 심중표(Joongpyo Shim) ; 한협조(Hyeop-Jo Han) ; 조민(Min Cho) ; 윤영건(Younggun Yoon) ; 신재돈(Jaedon Shin) |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.15681/KSWE.2026.42.3.229 |
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Keywords |
Biogenic transformation; Ferrihydrite; Secondary battery; Sulfate; Vibrio |
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Abstract |
Sulfate-rich industrial wastewaters generated during secondary battery manufacturing (e.g., Li-ion production and hydrometallurgical recycling) present a growing environmental challenge, necessitating low-energy treatment approaches capable of functioning under high ionic strength. This study assesses a marine microbial consortium enriched from the Saemangeum tidal flat for its ability to couple anaerobic respiration with iron-sulfur (Fe-S) mineralization. This process transforms amorphous Fe(III) minerals and sulfate into biogenic iron sulfide nanominerals. Under ambient batch incubation conditions (30 °C, near-neutral pH) with pyruvate as the electron donor, ferrihydrite acted as a dynamic electron sink, facilitating the coupled reduction of Fe(III) and sulfate. This process resulted in the rapid precipitation of mackinawite-like FeS and FeS2 nanoparticles, which exhibited rod-like and framboid-like morphologies. Time-resolved kinetics indicated that pyruvate oxidation to acetate supported over 60% sulfate reduction across three representative consortia (P1-5, P1-18, P2-30) selected from a total of 105 tested communities. Mineralogical analyses (XRD, TEM, SEM, EDS) revealed a sequential transformation from <5 nm amorphous ferrihydrite to semi-crystalline α-/γ-type Fe(III) oxyhydroxides, followed by the formation of crystalline Fe-S phases. Representative isolates from the P1-5 consortium, recovered on pyruvate- and sulfate-supplemented agar, were identified as Vibrio spp. These findings underscore the potential of halotolerant marine consortia as a viable, low-energy bioprocess for treating sulfate-laden industrial brines and for advancing biologically driven Fe-S mineralization technologies.
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