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Bacterially enhanced dissolution of meta-autunite

¹ Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada
² Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana 46556-0767, U.S.A.
³ Department of Geology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, U.S.A.

Correspondence: ^* E-mail: fowle{at}ku.edu

The release of U from the mineral meta-autunite {Ca[(UO₂)(PO₂)](H₂O)₆} was evaluated using spectroscopy, aqueous geochemistry, and electron microscopy in a minimal media with the dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium Shewanella putrefaciens 200R. The onset of anaerobic conditions resulted in the rapid release of U and phosphate to solution followed by the reprecipitation of meta-autinite. Spectroscopy measurements (XANES) indicated that the U was not released via reduction during the bacterial incubations, but instead dissolution was promoted by uptake and immobilization of P by the bacterial cells. Our results suggest that U(VI) in "refractory" P mineral phases may be mobilized from U mill tailings and/or U disposal sites and that the nutrient status (P) of the geologic setting may be a predictor for the lability of U in these environments.

Key Words: Uranium • autunite • phosphate • Shewanella putrefaciens • weathering • XANES