The mineralogic transformation of ferrihydrite induced by heterogeneous reaction with bioreduced anthraquinone disulfonate (AQDS) and the role of phosphate

Bioreduced anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AH2DS; dihydro-anthraquinone) was reacted with a 2-line, Si-substituted ferrihydrite under anoxic conditions at neutral pH in PIPES buffer. Phosphate (P) and bicarbonate (C); common adsorptive oxyanions and media/buffer components known to effect ferrihydrite mineralization; and Fe(II)aq (as a catalytic mineralization agent) were used in comparative experiments. Heterogeneous AH2DS oxidation coupled with Fe(III) reduction occurred within 0.13–1 day, with mineralogic transformation occurring thereafter. The product suite included lepidocrocite, goethite, and/or magnetite, with proportions varing with reductant:oxidant ratio (r:o) and the presence of P or C. Lepidocrocite was the primary product at low r:o in the absence of P or C, with evidence for multiple formation pathways. Phosphate inhibited reductive recrystallization, while C promoted goethite formation. Stoichiometric magnetite was the sole product at higher r:o in the absence and presence of P. Lepidocrocite was the primary mineralization product in the Fe(II)aq system, with magnetite observed at near equal amounts when Fe(II) was high [Fe(II)/Fe(III)] = 0.5 and P was absent. P had a greater effect on reductive mineralization in the Fe(II)aq system, while AQDS was more effective than Fe(II)aq in promoting magnetite formation. The mineral products of the direct AH2DS-driven reductive reaction are different from those observed in AH2DS-ferrihydite systems with metal reducing bacteria, particularly in presence of P.