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Li R, Zhang L, Chen Y, Xia Q, Liu D, Huang Y, Dong H. Oxidation of Biogenic U(IV) in the Presence of Bioreduced Clay Minerals and Organic Ligands. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:1541-1550. [PMID: 38199960 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c07385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Bioreduction of soluble U(VI) to sparingly soluble U(IV) is proposed as an effective approach to remediating uranium contamination. However, the stability of biogenic U(IV) in natural environments remains unclear. We conducted U(IV) reoxidation experiments following U(VI) bioreduction in the presence of ubiquitous clay minerals and organic ligands. Bioreduced Fe-rich nontronite (rNAu-2) and Fe-poor montmorillonite (rSWy-2) enhanced U(IV) oxidation through shuttling electrons between oxygen and U(IV). Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), citrate, and siderophore desferrioxamine B (DFOB) promoted U(IV) oxidation via complexation with U(IV). In the presence of both rNAu-2 and EDTA, the rate of U(IV) oxidation was between those in the presence of rNAu-2 and EDTA, due to a clay/ligand-induced change of U(IV) speciation. However, the rate of U(IV) oxidation in other combinations of reduced clay and ligands was higher than their individual ones because both promoted U(IV) oxidation. Unexpectedly, the copresence of rNAu-2/rSWy-2 and DFOB inhibited U(IV) oxidation, possibly due to (1) blockage of the electron transport pathway by DFOB, (2) inability of DFOB-complexed Fe(III) to oxidize U(IV), and (3) stability of the U(IV)-DFOB complex in the clay interlayers. These findings provide novel insights into the stability of U(IV) in the environment and have important implications for the remediation of uranium contamination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runjie Li
- Center for Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Research, State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
- School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Limin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yu Chen
- Center for Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Research, State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Qingyin Xia
- Center for Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Research, State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Dong Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
| | - Ying Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Hailiang Dong
- Center for Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Research, State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
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Chardi KJ, Satpathy A, Schenkeveld WDC, Kumar N, Noël V, Kraemer SM, Giammar DE. Ligand-Induced U Mobilization from Chemogenic Uraninite and Biogenic Noncrystalline U(IV) under Anoxic Conditions. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2022; 56:6369-6379. [PMID: 35522992 PMCID: PMC9118557 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c07919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Microbial reduction of soluble hexavalent uranium (U(VI)) to sparingly soluble tetravalent uranium (U(IV)) has been explored as an in situ strategy to immobilize U. Organic ligands might pose a potential hindrance to the success of such remediation efforts. In the current study, a set of structurally diverse organic ligands were shown to enhance the dissolution of crystalline uraninite (UO2) for a wide range of ligand concentrations under anoxic conditions at pH 7.0. Comparisons were made to ligand-induced U mobilization from noncrystalline U(IV). For both U phases, aqueous U concentrations remained low in the absence of organic ligands (<25 nM for UO2; 300 nM for noncrystalline U(IV)). The tested organic ligands (2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA), desferrioxamine B (DFOB), N,N'-di(2-hydroxybenzyl)ethylene-diamine-N,N'-diacetic acid (HBED), and citrate) enhanced U mobilization to varying extents. Over 45 days, the ligands mobilized only up to 0.3% of the 370 μM UO2, while a much larger extent of the 300 μM of biomass-bound noncrystalline U(IV) was mobilized (up to 57%) within only 2 days (>500 times more U mobilization). This work shows the potential of numerous organic ligands present in the environment to mobilize both recalcitrant and labile U forms under anoxic conditions to hazardous levels and, in doing so, undermine the stability of immobilized U(IV) sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. Chardi
- Centre
for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department for
Environmental Geosciences, University of
Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Anshuman Satpathy
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Note Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Walter D. C. Schenkeveld
- Soil
Chemistry and Chemical Soil Quality Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Naresh Kumar
- Soil
Chemistry and Chemical Soil Quality Group, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Vincent Noël
- Stanford
Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC
National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo
Park, California 94025, United States
| | - Stephan M. Kraemer
- Centre
for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science, Department for
Environmental Geosciences, University of
Vienna, Josef-Holaubek-Platz 2, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel E. Giammar
- Department
of Energy, Environmental, and Chemical Engineering, Washington University, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United
States
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Zhang L, Chen Y, Xia Q, Kemner KM, Shen Y, O'Loughlin EJ, Pan Z, Wang Q, Huang Y, Dong H, Boyanov MI. Combined Effects of Fe(III)-Bearing Clay Minerals and Organic Ligands on U(VI) Bioreduction and U(IV) Speciation. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2021; 55:5929-5938. [PMID: 33822593 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.0c08645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Reduction of U(VI) to U(IV) drastically reduces its solubility and has been proposed as a method for remediation of uranium contamination. However, much is still unknown about the kinetics, mechanisms, and products of U(VI) bioreduction in complex systems. In this study, U(VI) bioreduction experiments were conducted with Shewanella putrefaciens strain CN32 in the presence of clay minerals and two organic ligands: citrate and EDTA. In reactors with U and Fe(III)-clay minerals, the rate of U(VI) bioreduction was enhanced due to the presence of ligands, likely because soluble Fe3+- and Fe2+-ligand complexes served as electron shuttles. In the presence of citrate, bioreduced U(IV) formed a soluble U(IV)-citrate complex in experiments with either Fe-rich or Fe-poor clay mineral. In the presence of EDTA, U(IV) occurred as a soluble U(IV)-EDTA complex in Fe-poor montmorillonite experiments. However, U(IV) remained associated with the solid phase in Fe-rich nontronite experiments through the formation of a ternary U(IV)-EDTA-surface complex, as suggested by the EXAFS analysis. Our study indicates that organic ligands and Fe(III)-bearing clays can significantly affect the microbial reduction of U(VI) and the stability of the resulting U(IV) phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Limin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Biology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Biology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Qingyin Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Biology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Kenneth M Kemner
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Yanghao Shen
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Edward J O'Loughlin
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
| | - Zezhen Pan
- Environmental Microbiology Laboratory Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Qihuang Wang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Ying Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Hailiang Dong
- State Key Laboratory of Biology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Maxim I Boyanov
- Biosciences Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois 60439, United States
- Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Chemical Engineering, Sofia 1113, Bulgaria
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Thuéry P, Harrowfield J. Uranyl Ion Complexes with Chiral Malic and Citramalic, and Prochiral Citric and Tricarballylic Acids: Influence of Coligands and Additional Metal Cations. Eur J Inorg Chem 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/ejic.201701406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Thuéry
- NIMBE; CEA; Université Paris-Saclay; 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette France
| | - Jack Harrowfield
- ISIS; CEA; Université de Strasbourg; 8 allée Gaspard Monge 67083 Strasbourg France
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Felipe-Sotelo M, Edgar M, Beattie T, Warwick P, Evans NDM, Read D. Effect of anthropogenic organic complexants on the solubility of Ni, Th, U(IV) and U(VI). JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2015; 300:553-560. [PMID: 26253235 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2015.07.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2015] [Revised: 07/08/2015] [Accepted: 07/23/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
The influence of anthropogenic organic complexants (citrate, EDTA and DTPA from 0.005 to 0.1M) on the solubility of nickel(II), thorium(IV) and uranium (U(IV) and U(VI)) has been studied. Experiments were carried out in 95%-saturated Ca(OH)2 solutions, representing the high pH conditions anticipated in the near field of a cementitious intermediate level radioactive waste repository. Results showed that Ni(II) solubility increased by 2-4 orders of magnitude in the presence of EDTA and DTPA and from 3 to 4 orders of magnitude in the case of citrate. Citrate had the greatest effect on the solubility of Th(IV) and U(IV)/(VI). XRD and SEM analyses indicate that the precipitates are largely amorphous; only in the case of Ni(II), is there some evidence of incipient crystallinity, in the form of Ni(OH)2 (theophrastite). A study of the effect of calcium suggests that U(VI) and Ni(II) may form metal-citrate-OH complexes stabilised by Ca(2+). Thermodynamic modelling underestimates the concentrations in solution in the presence of the ligands for all the elements considered here. Further investigation of the behaviour of organic ligands under hyperalkaline conditions is important because of the use of the thermodynamic constants in preparing the safety case for the geological disposal of radioactive wastes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Felipe-Sotelo
- Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
| | - M Edgar
- Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - T Beattie
- MCM Consulting. Täfernstrasse 11, CH 5405 Baden-Dättwil, Switzerland
| | - P Warwick
- Enviras Ltd., LE11 3TU Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - N D M Evans
- Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
| | - D Read
- Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, LE11 3TU Loughborough, Leicestershire, United Kingdom
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Mesbah A, Szenknect S, Clavier N, Lozano-Rodriguez J, Poinssot C, Den Auwer C, Ewing RC, Dacheux N. Coffinite, USiO4, Is Abundant in Nature: So Why Is It So Difficult To Synthesize? Inorg Chem 2015; 54:6687-96. [PMID: 26145720 DOI: 10.1021/ic502808n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Coffinite, USiO4, is the second most abundant U(4+) mineral on Earth, and its formation by the alteration of the UO2 in spent nuclear fuel in a geologic repository may control the release of radionuclides to the environment. Despite its abundance in nature, the synthesis and characterization of coffinite have eluded researchers for decades. On the basis of the recent synthesis of USiO4, we can now define the experimental conditions under which coffinite is most efficiently formed. Optimal formation conditions are defined for four parameters: pH, T, heating time, and U/Si molar ratio. The adjustment of pH between 10 and 12 leads probably to the formation of a uranium(IV) hydroxo-silicate complex that acts as a precursor of uranium(IV) silicate colloids and then of coffinite. Moreover, in this pH range, the largest yield of coffinite formation (as compared with those of the two competing byproduct phases, nanometer-scale UO2 and amorphous SiO2) is obtained for 250 °C, 7 days, and 100% excess silica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adel Mesbah
- †ICSM, UMR 5257 CEA/CNRS/UM/ENSCM, Site de Marcoule-Bât. 426, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex, France
| | - Stephanie Szenknect
- †ICSM, UMR 5257 CEA/CNRS/UM/ENSCM, Site de Marcoule-Bât. 426, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex, France
| | - Nicolas Clavier
- †ICSM, UMR 5257 CEA/CNRS/UM/ENSCM, Site de Marcoule-Bât. 426, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex, France
| | - Janeth Lozano-Rodriguez
- ⊥HZDR, Institute of Resource Ecology, Rossendorf Beamline at ESRF, P.O. Box 220, 38043 Grenoble, France
| | - Christophe Poinssot
- ‡CEA, Nuclear Energy Division, DRCP/DIR, CEA Marcoule, Bât. 400, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex, France
| | - Christophe Den Auwer
- ∥ICN, UMR 7272, Nice Sophia-Antipolis University, 28 av. de Valrose, 06108 Nice cedex 2, France
| | | | - Nicolas Dacheux
- †ICSM, UMR 5257 CEA/CNRS/UM/ENSCM, Site de Marcoule-Bât. 426, BP 17171, 30207 Bagnols-sur-Cèze cedex, France
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Tanaka K, Tani Y, Ohnuki T. Specific Sorption Behavior of Actinoids on Biogenic Mn Oxide. CHEM LETT 2011. [DOI: 10.1246/cl.2011.806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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Luo W, Gu B. Dissolution of uranium-bearing minerals and mobilization of uranium by organic ligands in a biologically reduced sediment. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2011; 45:2994-2999. [PMID: 21395303 DOI: 10.1021/es103073u] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The stability and mobility of uranium (U) is a concern following its reductive precipitation or immobilization by techniques such as bioremediation at contaminated sites. In this study, the influences of complexing organic ligands such as citrate and ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA) on the mobilization of U were investigated in both batch and column flow systems using a contaminated and bioreduced sediment. Results indicate that both reduced U(IV) and oxidized U(VI) in the sediment can be effectively mobilized with the addition of EDTA or citrate under anaerobic conditions. The dissolution and mobilization of U appear to be correlated to the dissolution of iron (Fe)- or aluminum (Al)-bearing minerals, with EDTA being more effective (with R2≥0.89) than citrate (R2<0.60) in dissolving these minerals. The column flow experiments confirm that U, Fe, and Al can be mobilized by these ligands under anoxic conditions, although the cumulative amounts of U removal constituted ∼0.1% of total U present in this sediment following a limited period of leaching. This study concludes that the presence of complexing organic ligands may pose a long-term concern by slowly dissolving U-bearing minerals and mobilizing U even under a strict anaerobic environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wensui Luo
- Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, United States
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Tanaka K, Suzuki Y, Ohnuki T. Sorption and Oxidation of Tetravalent Plutonium on Mn Oxide in the Presence of Citric Acid. CHEM LETT 2009. [DOI: 10.1246/cl.2009.1032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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