Dissolution of realgar by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in the presence and absence of zerovalent iron: Implications for remediation of iron-deficient realgar tailings

This is the author's accepted manuscript.The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Realgar (As4S4)-rich tailings are iron-deficient arsenical mine wastes. The mechanisms and products of the dissolution of realgar by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) in the presence (0.2 g and 2 g) and absence of zerovalent iron (ZVI) are investigated for three stages (each of 7 d with fresh A. ferrooxidans medium addition between the stages). SEM-EDX, FTIR, XPS and selective extraction analysis are used to characterize the solid-phase during the experiments. ZVI addition causes the systems to become more acid-generating, although pH increases are observed in the first day due to ZVI dissolution. Arsenic is released to solution due to realgar oxidation (∼30 mg L−1 in the 0 g ZVI system in Stage I), but low concentrations are observed in the ZVI-added systems (