Biological oxidation of ferrous sulphate by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans: a review on the kinetic aspects

Biological oxidation of ferrous sulphate by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans has p roved to be a significant step in the bioleaching of sulphide minerals and treatment of acid mine drainage. The same bioreaction also has beneficial a pplications in the desulphurization of coal and removal of hydrogen sulphid e from gaseous effluents. Owing to the numerous potential industrial applic ations, the process of biocatalytic oxidation of ferrous iron has been stud ied extensively over the years. In the present article different aspects of this biological reaction from both a microbiological and engineering point of view are discussed and an overview of the current knowledge with respec t to T. ferrooxidans and the process it catalyses is provided. (C) 1998 Els evier Science S.A. All rights reserved.